Different Yet The same
by mysterywolfgirl
Summary: Ookami Yami, banned from her clan, lives alone in Konoha. The young Ookami, filled with secrets unknown to even herself, goes through some of the biggest changes of life with none other than Naruto. NaruXoc
1. Chapter 1

...I was looking outside my bedroom window... The sky was crying again... I sighed... I didn't want to go to school... It was raining and today was the exams. I know I was going to pass it. I mean, I already can clone myself twice. It's not like anyone noticed anyways. I was the outsider, the loner of the school. I didn't ask for attention but I didn't push it away either. The only person I actually talked to was Shikamaru, but that was rarely.

I got off my bed and went downstairs for a bagel. The genin exams would be pretty easy. I walked out, but not before locking the door. I didn't bother bringing an umbrella with me because I liked walking in the rain, even if it was to school.

Once again, it's not like anyone cared.

I kept on walking in the dirt road then eventually walked in the school. As I entered the room, I realized that I was the only person there. Maybe it was because I woke up so early… I sat in the corner of the room and lurked in the dark, slowly drying off from the rain. I watched as the room was slowly starting to fill up and getting louder. I leaned back on my chair and stared at the table, ignoring everyone around me… but I still keeping my guard up.

"So what are you doing there all by yourself?" I heard. I looked up to see Shikamaru.

For some odd reason, he always sat next to me. It could be because I'm not loud and troublesome like most people in the class.

"Just thinking, you know?"

"Hm, I guess" These were the conversations we always had, so I couldn't exactly call him a friend. He was the kind of person I could talk to for five seconds. We've held that odd 'friendship' for three years.

Who knows, maybe one day we could be actual friends? But all I wanted to do was chill in the forest. The forest was a calm place to relax in. Well, it was a lot calmer than the classroom.

The usual drama occurred when the class was filled.

Naruto was very loud... yet Sasuke, one of the quietest and extremely noticeable students, seemed to easily nerve him. Since I wasn't much of a talker in the class, it was actually a bit amusing to just watch them.

_Now let's see... Naruto hates Sasuke... Who hates Sakura... Who hates Naruto... Who loves her... When she loves Sasuke... this would be the perfect circle if Sasuke loved Naruto, but by the looks of it, he doesn't._

_Oh my... and by how Hinata is staring right now...She likes Naruto. Sigh. This is so bothersome after a while... When you know who likes who and such, it get annoying when they're so oblivious to obvious clues..._

I blankly stared around the classroom, waiting for a hint that the exams were going to start any time soon.

When you don't have any friends, there's just no point in waiting in class doing nothing.

As fun as daydreaming sounds, it gets a bit irritating after a year.

I stared at the floor until I heard my name being called. Ookami, Yami.

Dark wolf...

Go figure. My clan had a pretty ... low profile. So it was rare that people heard my last name. Most of the time they frown when they hear it though... _I have this... really strange… past. When I was-_

"Ookami Yami?!" Iruka yelled once again.

I swiftly got up and left after wishing Shikamaru good luck. He gave me a strange look but thanked me anyways. I walked down the steps and avoided gazes from anybody. Their gazes were a bit uncomfortable... so I kept on looking right in front of me until I reached Iruka's side. When I looked towards the door, they strangely opened up by themselves...

I strolled in and stood in the middle of the room, showing no emotion in my eyes or on my face, but I still held a trace of fear in my body.

"Ookami Yami? I trust you can easily do this with the way Iruka speaks of you. Create two replica's by using the cloning jutsu." One of the sensei's said.

_Iruka-sensei speaks of me? Well this is big news to me..._

I focused on my chakra, and easily made two clones.

"Congratulations, Yami. You are officially a ninja of Konoha" Iruka sensei said with a small smile on his face. He handed me my forehead protector and I happily took it with pride. Before I left, I had to ask my now-former sensei a question.

"Is it alright... If I turn this into a... collar?" he looked at me a bit shocked, but quickly remembered.

"I already spoke to The Third, and he understood, and gave you permission to" I slightly smiled and left to get my forehead protector turned into a collar.

My clan was very strange. They were the clan of the wolf, just like how the Inuzuka was the clan of the dog. They were a wild, roaming clan, and they held a tradition that had been passed on for generations. **"****If you devote yourself to a village, then wear a collar that will represent that you are their wolf."** They'd never say dog, because as similar as they were, they always considered wolves stronger, wiser, and wilder than dogs.

I left the room with my forehead protector in hand, and left without taking a glance around me.

I went to the local jewelry store, and the shop owner was already waiting for me. He was an old, experienced, wrinkled faced man who held a certain twinkle in his eye that no one else could ever had. To the naked eye, he looked like an old, regular senior, but when I got to know him, I realized that he was the coolest jewelry shop owner that I'd ever meet in your life.

"Hey Tsume!" I called out, knowing that he absolutely hated being called Mr. Nekozuka "can you do me a favor?"

"Of course, little Ookami. The third already informed me. Now give me that forehead protector of yours," he said with a smile as he took it from my hand and examined it.

"Yes, yes... this will be more than enough metal to forge... It'll be ready tomorrow morning before school. Alright?" he said with a gentle smile. I eagerly nodded my head and waved at him while heading towards the forest, the place I'd been yearning to go to all day.

I walked by the school and saw many parents congratulating all but one... Naruto. He was sitting on a swing in the trees' shadows by himself... It saddened me to see someone like that... I looked past him and saw some children and parents muttering and pointing at Naruto's direction and it angered me. I stopped my steps and glared in their direction and surprisingly, they saw me and stopped. I saw Naruto lift up his head and look around... as if looking for someone, but I just kept on walking towards the forest...

For some reason, the forest always calmed me. It was like... there was a soul in me that was just a wild animal... wanting to run freely through the grass... I couldn't quite explain it clearly... but I felt it whenever I was in a forest. This want to fight came into my mind too, so I satisfied my wants with a good training.

When I trained, I trained myself in everything I could. My chakra control was always important. Strength of course was always practiced, and especially stealth.

In my clan, few members gained special abilities, but I somehow got all of them...

Firstly, I had the eyes of the wolf, which were a bit like the Hyuuga eyes. But instead of seeing chakra, I was able to see body heat. So even through the most convincing replicas, I was able to tell which ones were fakes. Not only was I able to see body heat, but I could see in the dark, which was great for hunting. I had an extremely sensitive nose and ears also, which every member had. The best ability I had gotten was the ability to shift forms into a wolf. I needed to master shifting with precise chakra control.

Strength was an obvious need in training.

I practice my accuracy, which was very good with my ears and eyes.

Mind... I put myself in situations... many situations and think up of the most, and best way of escape, or rescue.

When I was done, I decided to go back to my house. I walked towards my house on the dirty street, and unlocked the door. No sound was heard inside as usual. I went inside in my slightly neat rooms and decided to take a nice warm shower.

Night came quickly as time just seemed to fly by my head. I rested on my slightly small bed and stared at the dark night sky covered in stars through my window. A sudden blanket of drowsiness came over me and silently slept to awake to a new eventful day.


	2. Chapter 2

Morning sunlight shined over my eyes, painfully waking me up

Morning sunlight shined over my eyes, painfully waking me up. As soon as I opened up my eyes, the alarm clock went off. I turned it off with a slam and looked at the clock. 6:00 A.M.

_Why am I up 15 minutes early? _

_..._

_Oh yeah! My collar..._

I got up and quickly got ready. Once again, the only thing I had for breakfast was a bagel. I left my house and headed straight to Tsume's jewelry shop. I knocked on the door, waiting for someone to answer... Something didn't feel quite right... I opened the door and saw... nothing. I looked around and called out to the shop owner.

"Tsume?!" I looked around and still couldn't find him... Something still felt wrong...

The store was still dark, so I decided on switching my vision, and saw something on the floor... once again I changed my vision into the heat vision. I saw a pile of red on the floor.

Quickly, I panicked putting two and two together. I switched my vision into night vision and quickly looked for a switch. I tripped over a thing or two in my panicked state, but managed to find the switch. Once the lights were on, my vision automatically went back to its original state. I looked at the direction I saw the pile of heat and saw... nothing.

_What...?_

It couldn't have been your imagination... There was something there... I **knew** something was there, but now it's just gone...

"Yami? Is that you, dear? What are you doing here so early?... Oh yes. Your collar is ready for you, I worked on it most of the night. I've hafta say, it'll look great on you" he said with a grin. I eagerly smiled back at him and waited for my possession. He took a navy blue box off of his messy desk and lightly handed it to me. For some odd reason, my heart started beating quicker as I slowly opened it. When I finally opened it, I was in complete awe. It was a leather collar, with metal studs made from the forehead protector. The shuriken shaped dog tag that had the Konoha Leaf sign. I smiled with a whole new form of respect glowing in my eyes.

"Thank you so much" I said still smiling. All of the sudden, I realized something.

"Oh crap! Thanks Mr. Nekozuka!!" I shouted running to class, hoping that I wouldn't be late.

A vein popped out on his head and he yelled, "IT'S TSUME!!" I smiled at his reply and kept on running. Eventually, my running turned into jogging. I jogged through the hall and walked into class. Surprisingly, I wasn't late. I was earlier than most people, so I went to sit down by Shikamaru like I normally do.

"Hey"

"Hey... nice collar" I smiled and thanked him. I sat down in my seat and started looking around the room. I seriously thought I was going to be late, but as usual I was here before half of the class. All of the sudden, as if time flew by, the classroom filled up quickly and as if on cue, Iruka-sensei came in. He gave a small speech about how we should try our best and never give up. I started dozing off, but woke up once I heard names being called for teams and team members.

"Team 1!" he shouted. I ignored it and started dozing off, then all of the sudden, out of complete boredom, I remembered to wish Shikamaru a good luck.

"Good luck today with the teams and all. Hope you get teamed up with Choji, since he's your best friend and all" he looked at me with a weird stare, but still awkwardly thanked me.

_He always thinks women are troublesome._

All of the sudden, I heard my name being called after Sakura's.

"Team 7. Haruno, Sakura, Ookami, Yami, Uzumaki, Naruto, and Uchiha, Sasuke."

For me, everything just stopped... as if this was going to be one of the biggest changes in my life.

_Well this is a shock for me. Me, being in the same team as Naruto, Sasuke, __**and**__ Sakura? I sense drama in this team... Mhm._

"Team 10. Yamanaka, Ino, Akimichi, Choji, and Nara, Shikamaru"

"WHAT!! You mean I have to be in a team with these losers!" 

_Woah! Jeez, she screams loud...Haha. Poor Shikamaru, she's probably the most bothersome girl here._

I couldn't help but give him a look of sympathy, but inside, I was laughing so hard I could have cried. I looked at my team, who were sitting in a different desk, arguing with each other. I slightly frowned to myself and thought.

_I'm still going to be ignored._

Iruka sensei informed us that today we would be meeting our new sensei. He wished us luck and left the classroom.  
We stayed for a while, the class slowly pouring out as teams met their new senseis. Surprisingly, Shikamaru actually told me goodbye before he left. Soon, only four people remained in the classroom. Two of them, Sakura and Naruto, were **very** angry and only one showed their anger. The other, Sakura, fussed in her head, while the other two were quiet. One, Sasuke, was getting annoyed by the blonde's rants and complains, while I silently trained my chakra control. I sat on the desk and sat Indian style with my eyes closed.

Today, in my training, I was practicing on how to create a ball of darkness in my hands. It was harmless, but the bigger it got, the more control I had over my own chakra. I blocked out all sounds around me and focused on my hand. I felt the small shadow ball forming in my palm and focused on enlarging it by putting more chakra into it. It slowly got bigger, but when I heard a thump, it disappeared along with my concentration. I opened my eyes to see a man in his middle 20's with silver hair. His forehead protector was covering his left eye and he wore a mask that covered from his nose to his neck.

"My first impression is... I hate you all," he simply said. He turned around and left the classroom, leaving us in confusion. I raised an eyebrow and felt that this teacher was going to be quite different from any other teachers I've heard of or had.

_I suppose we have to follow him... I'll just till they leave first._

My three roommates followed their sensei with strange looks on their faces, while I simply followed.

_Now, for my next training... I have to learn how to keep this form long enough._

I did a bunch of hand seals and shifted forms into a wolf. I turned into a wolf, with a series of different shades of gray. I walked out of the room, silently and unnoticeably following the team. I had to stop a couple of times to let young children pet me, since they thought I was a nice dog. I kept on following them until they sat down in front of our new sensei. I sat down in the shadow of a tree and watched them. I shifted back to my regular form and listened to the silver-haired sensei.

"Let's get to know each other a bit? State your name, your likes, your dislikes, your dreams, and your goals," he announced. All three of the young students looked a bit baffled, but Sakura, being herself, decided to act smart and spoke first.

"How about you start?" she said with a smart tone, slightly tilting her head.

"Mhm... My name is Hatake, Kakashi. I like... things... and I dislike some things. I dream dreams and my goals are none of your concern."

_That was... informative_.

By the look on my teammates' faces, they were probably thinking the same as I was. I heard Sakura whisper to Sasuke.

"All we learned was his name. Totally unfair."

Kakashi-sensei probably heard her, but didn't say much or showed that he cared.

"From left to right. Go."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I love Ramen, especially pork ramen. I hate how long they take to cook-"

_It only takes 5 minutes…_ I thought thinking of his famous impatience_._

"-and my goal is to become the next Hokage, so people can stop looking down at me and respect me!" he finished with a grin.

_So people do that to you too huh... He'd make a good Hokage. I can see it._

And to be honest, I actually could. He might be loud, annoying, and a bit obnoxious at times, but he still had a kind heart... a heart big enough to become a Hokage.

"Mhm... _The boy has a lot of enthusiasm in him... He's different, _thought Kakashi_._ "You, with the pink hair," Kakashi said, sounding as if he's losing interest.

"My name is Haruno, Sakura. I like-" She stopped, looked at Sasuke, and then giggled.

"My dreams are-" she paused then looked at Sasuke. And how shocking! She giggled again.

"My goals are..." paused once again then looked at Sasuke, who was getting annoyed, and giggled... again.

_If she giggles one more time, I swear I'm going to kick someone's-_

"And I hate NARUTO!" she yelled at the poor blonde. The poor boy just looked down as if in shame.

_Poor Naruto… That's harsh for a crush to yell at you like that._

I looked at Sasuke and saw him annoyed at Sakura's outburst. When I looked at Kakashi-sensei, I saw a bit of disappointment. It could be because she's only a ninja because of a boy. The only thought that ran across his mind was '_What a shame. She's only here so she can get the Uchiha's attention'_

"You with the dark hair," Kakashi sighed.

"My name is Uchiha, Sasuke... I like very few things and I hate **a lot** of things... I don't have dreams, I have nightmares... My goal... My goal is to **kill** a certain someone..."

Not one person couldn't feel the sudden rise of the tension in the air.

It got very quiet. Both Naruto and Sakura had scared looks on their faces. Kakashi didn't look affected by it much, but you could see a look of discomfort in his eye. The only one who could think at that moment was Kakashi. _'The Uchiha massacre...'_

"How about you in the dark there," Kakashi said as he looked straight into my eyes with a lazy stare. I didn't expect less from him, he's obviously experienced, yet the other three looked confused.

"My name is Ookami, Yami..."

Naruto looked around wildly; Sakura looked around holding in her curiosity, while Sasuke tried not showing that he cared.

"I like training and I love wolves..." I lingered. By the end of that sentence, all three of them had found me, but no recognition ran across their eyes... I was officially a stranger to them.

"I dislike closed minded people...I dream memories that aren't mine... My goal...is to-" I lingered. I had to think a good way of putting my thoughts into one sentence without too much information.

"-gain respect from...closed minded people," I finished. With the end of my sentence, attention was on me now. It felt a bit uncomfortable, so I looked away from their gaze.

"Alright, now that we all know each other, I guess that's all for today. Tomorrow, don't eat breakfast. I'll be part of your training tomorrow," Kakashi said while reading his 'mature' book.

"Training? What kind of training," asked Naruto? Silence swept over the group.

"Survival training," he answered, still reading his book, not once lifting his eyes up to see his team's reaction.

"Survival training, but we already did that!!" whined Naruto.

"Mines... different. So long" and with that our sensei just walked away from us.

I looked after him, wondering what his story was, then went back to my training. I did my hand seals and shifted into my wolf form. I had gotten used to the body structure change and stretched a bit. I walked around looking for a thick stick to bit on. When I was a wolf, I strengthened my jaw daily, so that one day, I would be able to bite through anything.

I found one that wasn't dried out that was as thick as both of my arms put together, and bit through it in half. I looked up to see Naruto with ... stars in his eyes?

"PUPPY!!" he shouted as he ran over to me to hug me. He petted my head and even rubbed my belly.

_Jeez, he's worst then a kid... but this is comfortable._

"Isn't he a bit big to be a dog?" Sasuke said looking over my wolf form. "Where did he even come from anyways," he glared at me.

_Last time I checked I was a female, Thank you very much!_

"I dunno, but the dog is cute" The blonde said smiling. "Look at that...it even has a collar with the Konoha leaf... You're like a ninja dog!"

_Wolf... but ok... wait a minute, did he just call me cute?... Wait, Remember you're a wolf not a person._

"Hey Sakura, do you wanna walk home with me?" I could hear the hope in his voice.

"No!" she...harshly declined him, but then right away, she asked Sasuke if he'd go eat Ramen with her. And as the cycle continued, he declined her. He didn't even bother looking back as he was walking away. Sakura looked at the floor in shame, but dignity quickly came back as she ran to walk home with Sasuke.

Naruto just looked at them with both hate and sadness. Being the "dog" I currently was being, I nudged his sides with my nose trying to cheer him up.

_Come on kid. Cheer up._

I whimpered, giving myself an almost pathetic look, but he smiled and hugged me. He sat down by me under the tree and petted my head softly. He stopped and started talking to me as if I was his best friend or something.

"I don't get why Sakura doesn't like me... It's not like I did anything," he said with a frown as he started petting me again. "Do you think I did anything? I trust you for some reason, so seriously bark once if you think something's wrong with me."

I didn't bother barking. He sighed in slight disappointment.

"I don't see what's so special about Sasuke anyways...He's so mean and isolates himself all the time," he sighed again looking at the green grass.

"I don't see what either," I said. He looked around freaked out when he saw me, in my regular forn, talking to him.

"What happened to the dog!?" he shouted scared and confused at the moment.

"That was a wolf..." I corrected him calmly.

"A WOLF!" he screamed. _Wow, he's slow_.

If my wolf form didn't bite him, what makes him think that **my human form** was going to bite him now?

"Don't worry, it was me. I have that ability. Well, I have to go now, so if you ever need to talk again, I'm always in the shadows. See you tomorrow!" I was about to wave at him but then remembered to remind him.

"Let's try keeping this between us, alright Naruto? For some reason, I trust you too. So later," I said, then sprinted off home.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up to the extremely loud and annoying alarm clock, ringing at its usual time

I woke up to the extremely loud and annoying alarm clock, ringing at its usual time.

6:15 A.M.

I hated waking up so early in the morning.

_Seriously, it's the greatest mystery in the world as to how people are so cheery when they first wake up._ I yawned and stretched, but nothing seemed to be able to wake me up today. Maybe a cold shower would do the job?

The cold shower didn't really help, it just made me shiver. I wore my usual outfit and walked to the meeting grounds.

_Tomorrow don't eat breakfast, it's part of your training tomorrow,_ I remembered Kakashi warning us.

I rolled my eyes at the thought. I could last a day without eating breakfast, if anyone even considered one bagel a breakfast.

I left the house, locking the door, and started walking where we were supposed to meet. When I got to the meeting ground, I only saw Uchiha glaring at usual at Haruno while she trying to have a conversation with him... again.

I sighed in aggravation, then thought, _I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but right now, no one's going to get along_.

I found a tree with a low branch, low enough to climb on and take a nap. For some reason, I couldn't sleep. I was awake...but at the same time I was sleeping. As if my soul wasn't in my body, but I was still aware of everything going on around me, but at the same time I wasn't. It went on like that for 3-4 minutes and I was forced to listen to Uchiha and Haruno talk... well more of Haruno, because Sasuke isn't much of a social butterfly.

_Why am I calling them by their last names? Oh yeah… Only answer I can come up with is that.. I respect no one here right now, but for one…_

_Sasuke will always be a prick to __**someone**__, whether it'll be to a fangirl or to someone for even trying to socialize with him._

_Sakura... do I even need to explain myself? The girl is only what? 12? And she's "in love" with the "cold-hearted Uchiha"_

_I mean come on. She lost her best friend because they fought over a __**guy**__. Well… They're still fighting over the same guy._

_They all need to grow up in my eyes._

_I will not call people, who I am not friends with, by their first names if I don't even respect them._

_Everyone is respected in my eyes, but if you're like these two._

I stopped my ranting thoughts for a moment and stared at the scene in front of me.

Sakura was clinging to Sasuke's arm, almost cutting off the blood circulation in the Sasuke's arm. The dark haired boy had the most malicious glare on his face and was trying to "politely" shove her off his arm. 

"Get. Off. Now," he growled at her. 

"But...b-but" she whimpered, trying to be brave, but shrinking under his glare. He intensified his glare showing he meant business, so she slowly and regretfully let go with a sad frown on her face... but quickly smiled and again tried once to socialize with him

_Will she ever stop? Just give up talking to him already._

A very visible sweat drop appeared in the back of my head. As minutes passed by, I eventually learned to ignore Haruno's voice and stared up at the clouds. My leg swung back and forth as I stared at the oddly shaped clouds. I didn't notice anything around me for a while. It was as if everything just faded off and I thought of a song called Gravity.

"_Been a long road to follow..._

_Been there and gone tomorrow.  
Without saying goodbye to yesterday._

_Are the memories I hold still valid?_

_Or have the tears deluded them."_

I didn't realize it, but I had started singing it aloud quietly.

Somewhere in Konoha, Naruto woke up and realized that he was late. He took one of the quickest showers of his life and ran out his apartment completely forgetting to eat his ramen, even though he wasn't supposed to anyways.

He ran past a blushing Hinata, who was going to attempt on wishing Naruto a good morning, but the blond ran too fast for her to even catch his attention. She looked down sighing, but Akamaru, Kiba's dog, caught her attention with a cute bark. She couldn't stay down with the cute Inu, so she smiled at him even though he happened to be in Kiba's shirt. The brunette blushed at her smile and quickly looked away. Hinata looked at him confusingly. _What just happened?_

Naruto ran to the meeting grounds to see Sakura all over Sasuke...again.

_Man this just ruined my day al-rea-dy..._

His thoughts stopped once he heard an unfamiliar voice.

_What a pretty voice and song._

"_Maybe this time tomorrow._

_The rain will seize to follow_

_And the mist fade into one more today_

_Something somewhere out there keeps calling_

_Am I going home?_

_Will i hear someone_

_Singing solace to the silent moon"_

_Wow,_ thought Naruto.

"_Zero gravity... what's it like?"_

He looked around trying to find out who was singing the song.

"_Am I alone?_

_Is somebody there beyond these heavy aching feet?_

_Still the road keeps on telling to go on..."_

He looked up at the branch and unfortunately saw me.

"_Something is pulling me..._

_I feel the gravity... of it all..."_

He just stared at me, surprised that I actually knew how to sing and that Sakura and Sasuke didn't even hear me. He was going to say something but then thought it was best not to say anything. He sat on the grass and played with a leaf, trying to entertain himself, when a gray dog suddenly appeared next to him.

Her tail was wagging and she stayed in her spot happily, filled with hyper ness. He squinted his sky blue eyes and thought, _this dog looks familiar_.

The sight looked strange and hilarious to others.

Naruto was just sitting on the grass, quietly glaring at a dog, while the dog just sat there and wagged her tail. Most would think that he was crazy and others would think that he was bored and crazy.

Out of complete random, Naruto received a smack on the head.

"KYAAA!!" he shouted, gripping his head in pain. He looked up to see Haruno, glaring at him. He glared right back at her then shouted again.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR SAKURA!?" Another smack was heard.

"KYYAAAA!!" he was on the floor, cuddling his aching head.

"Stop being such a weirdo, Naruto. You're making me look bad in front of Sasuke," she said giving him a death glare. The dog's eye twitched and started growling at Haruno. She looked at the dog confused with a tinge of fear in her eyes. The dog barked at her making her scream and run for 'protection' from Sasuke. The dog "glared" at her and turned her attention to Naruto. He was still cradling his head on the floor when he felt a tongue run across his cheek. He looked up at the dog to see her giving him a look, as if she was asking if he was alright. Realization hit him hard and he passed out on the floor from the shock. The dog looked at him weirdly and simply walked away.

...

Naruto woke up to see his sensei gazing at him with a questioning look on his face. Naruto looked at him confused then remembered. He jumped up and pointed his finger at me with a sudden alertness.

"Yo-yo-you!" he half gasped and screamed, sounding like a high pitched wheeze. I snickered at how he screamed like a girl and dropped my head to the side, giving him an innocently confused face.

"What?"

He kind of glared at me and muttered nothing, while Kakashi and the others stared at him like he was completely out of his mind.

"So sensei, what are we going to do exactly?" I said breaking their stares and bringing them to me.

"You are going to..." he took out his book and started reading it.

"-try getting one of those three pairs of chopsticks on that branch way over there." he pointed to the highest tree in the forest.

The three pairs of chopstick were on the highest branch of the tree.

"Before the clock" he took out a clock from nowhere, and set it, "-hits 1:00. It's now 11:00," he continued.

"Chopsticks?" Sakura asked, wondering what the hell this guy was thinking.

"Yeah chopsticks... It was a last minute thing, so I grabbed chopsticks," was his lame excuse.

Sweat drops appeared behind everyone's head.

_What kind of excuse was that?_

All four of us got ready to leave when he stopped us.

"Oh yeah... If you don't pass this, you will fail," he calmly stated. Everyone froze in their tracks.

"But there's only...three... pairs..." said Sakura, not fully realizing the situation at hand.

"I know. Go," he said going back to his book.

A sudden adrenaline rush went through my body.

I looked around and the first thing I thought to do was hide. I hid high up in a tree, hiding my chakra. Naruto, being impatient and thoughtless, ran towards the tree. He tried climbing it with his hands and feet, but could only get so far.

"Mhm. Dobe," muttered Sasuke.

Sasuke appeared out of nowhere and jumped from branch to branch getting closer to the chopsticks. When he was a branch away from them, a shuriken suddenly stopped him from going any further.

Avoiding the sharp weapon, Sasuke did a back flip onto another tree.

_This isn't going to be easy_, thought Sakura, as she stared at the scene above her.

_Damn it, _shouted Naruto in his head.

I continued to hide my chakra, while studying everything around me. Naruto jumped up the branches and jumped towards the chopsticks, but was grabbed by Kakashi-sensei.

Kakashi brought him close to his face and inspected him. He shook his head and whispered, "So impatient." He let him go and Naruto fell to the ground. Luckily, Naruto grabbed one of the branches, which left him hanging about 20 feet above the ground.

Sasuke hid in the leaves and waited for a precise moment to attack. Sakura hid in the bushes below a tree and watched after the team's sensei. Their sensei didn't move and just waited, as if pin pointing everyone.

Sasuke threw his kunai at the sensei and surprisingly, it hit him right in the chest, where is heart should be.

Sakura and Naruto gasped in fear and my eyes widened in shock.

All of the sudden, the sensei just "poofed" into a log.

_Replacement jutsu, _figured everyone. Separately, everyone was looking for their sensei. Randomly, I heard Sakura scream. I looked at her to see that she had passed out. I climbed down from my spot to see that she had no marks on her.

_Probably an illusion jutsu_, I guessed. I tried waking her up, but she wouldn't budge. I sighed out of annoyance and picked her up, dragging her into the shade. I looked beyond the bushes to see Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei fighting in a hand-to-hand combat.

I didn't pay much attention to the fighting, but all I knew is that Kakashi-sensei hid in the ground, and now the Uchiha's head was sticking out of the ground. I sighed again out of annoyance.

"Need any help," I tried asking politely.

"Hn," he glared at me coldly, almost as if I was the one to put him in that situation.

"Whatever. Like I care what you think," I mumbled digging him out. He was almost free when I felt chakra behind me. I turned around to see my sensei behind me.

"Helping others surely will get you into trouble," he said putting his book away. I intensely glared at him and got ready for a fight. He appeared behind and was about to punch me, but I ducked away from it and tried kicking him, but he jumped and avoided it.

"Howling wolf ninjutsu!" I shouted while performing hand seals. I made an "o" with my index and thumb and blew in it, making a destructive howl come out. The sound waves were about to hit Kakashi-sensei, but he dodged it, making it hit a tree, breaking it in half. A sweat drop appeared on his head and he thought, _damn, that could have been me. Note to self, be more careful around this girl._

I wasn't really in the mood to fight, so I didn't give it all when I was kicking and punching. I dodged most of his kicks and blows, when I heard another scream from that damn Haruno girl again.

Her scream distracted me and I heard the ending of a jutsu, "-ninjutsu!"

I looked back to my sensei to see a giant ball of fire coming my way. I did a back flip and somehow got my hand burnt.

Out of nowhere, Sasuke dug himself out and started fighting Kakashi. I didn't pay much attention to the fight again. All I knew was that there was a pair of chopsticks on the floor and Naruto went to get it. My eyes widened as I ran and to push him aside.

"What the-!" he started but was shoved to the floor. I stood in the trap and suddenly found myself hanging upside down.

RING

"Well then. What happen here? Certainly didn't expect Ms. Ookami here to be the one stuck in the trap," he looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

"What's that suppose to mean?!" exclaimed Naruto slightly insulted. Alright... So slightly might be an understatement right now... He felt as if he was being called a baka... which the sensei was implying.

"Alright, then. Since you are in the worst situation right now, you'll be tied to the pole," said the sensei still reading his book.

"Pole?" wondered Sakura and Naruto.

"Oh I didn't mention that, did I?" he asked lazily, taking his eyes off the book. He stared at us all and went back to his reading, continuing what he was saying.

"The person who didn't get the chopsticks," he paused, and rethought his choice of words, "or the person who's in the worst situation, will get tied up to the pole, while the rest can eat their ramen. Also they **fail**. Anyone who feeds her will fail along side with her."

There was silence. Nothing but silence was heard. No birds chirping, or dog barking. Just silence. Shock ran threw everyone's spines, excluding Kakashi-sensei.

He just put away his book and scowled everyone.

"You, Sasuke, you only help yourself and think everyone is a nuisance," he lectured the boy who was glaring at his sensei, proving him right.

"You, Sakura, you wouldn't even help Naruto, and was only concerned with Sasuke," he continued.

"You, Naruto, while I was fighting Sasuke, you were going to get the chopsticks rather than help your own teammate."

"And you, Yami, you just stood there and watched your teammates get hurt while you hid in the tree. For all you know, Naruto could have fallen onto the floor instead of catching that branch!"

I looked down in shame and understood what this was all about.

"Why do you think they put a **team** of four rather than just working individually!?" he half shouted and explained.

"Teamwork. That's the most important thing in a t-e-a-m," he glared at us all and left.

I was tied to the pole, staring at the teasing ramen being eaten by the blond. All of the sudden, I was **really** hungry. Maybe all of those days just having bagel for breakfast were finally catching up to me. My stomach roared out loud and I couldn't do anything about it since I was tied up. Naruto looked up at me with a small frown.

"That should've been me up there," he mumbled.

"So you are a dobe after all," said Sasuke smirking at the blonde's rising anger. Naruto glared at him then looked away, wrapping up some noodles with his chopsticks. He put it up to my mouth and told me to eat it. I frowned and turned my head to the other way.

"But you'll fai-" while I was talking, I felt delicious noodles being shoved into my mouth. I couldn't help but smile when I had more on the way. Never had ramen tasted so good till this day.

"Naruto, you dobe, what are you doing!?" yelled Sasuke pissed off.  
Before Naruto could respond, Kakashi-Sensei appeared out of nowhere and his voice boomed everywhere.

"What are you doing! You all **fail**!" his right eye twitched. Naruto looked at him confidently and said, "You said that we're in a **team** and that we need to work **together**. I am not going to let **my teammate** starve," said Naruto, basically ignoring the looks of shock from Sakura and Sasuke.

"H-he's right! If we let her starve, it wouldn't be teamwork at all," stuttered Sakura. Sasuke just 'hn'ed and glared at his Sensei again. Kakashi-sensei's glare turned into a smile and he said with a smile, "you all passed!"

"What?" said everyone shocked.

Even Sasuke didn't bother to cover up his shock for a second. Just a second.

"A ninja breaking the rules is an idiot, but a ninja abandoning his teammate is a scumbag," he said with a smile. He went up to me and cut the ropes down.

"Anyone up for Ramen? My treat," he offered. All of the seriousness on Naruto's face disappeared in a flash when Kakashi said 'my treat'.

After many bowls of ramen

Kakashi-sensei immediately regretted his words once he saw Naruto gulping down his bowls of ramen. He was on his seventh bowl. Sakura couldn't help but have a disgusted look and let her eye twitch. Sasuke just ignored them and kept on eating his first and last bowl. I just kept on eating and enjoying my ramen with great delight.

Kakashi laughed a nervous laugh and tried stopping Naruto.

"He-he-he. Um… yeah. Naruto, can you stop eating?" he chuckled even more nervously. This kid was putting a hole in his wallet.

He looked up with noodles and his mouth, and slurped it all up. He nervously laughed then scratched the back of his head. He went back to his ramen and finished his last bowl.

"Alright team. We're going to practice with our chakra control tomorrow," he said with a smile hidden by his mask. "Sayonara," and with that, he disappeared with a 'poof'.

"Hn," 'hn'ed Sasuke. He got up and started leaving when Sakura suddenly stood in front of him.

"Um... Sasuke? Can I walk home with you?" she asked with a whole lot of hope in her voice.

"No," he got up to her face real close and said, "You're annoying," and left her there to sulk. She walked home by herself with a sad aura surrounding her. I stretched a bit and made my way home.

"Hey Naruto, I'm gonna go now. Bye," I waved and started leaving.

"Wait!" I stopped and waited for him to continue, "Can I walk home with you?"

_This seems familiar... Oh yeah Haruno_

"Sure," I flashed him a smile. He smiled back at me and we started walking home and talking about random things, like Sakura's expression when I growled at her.

"That was priceless," laughed Naruto. He really seemed happy. There was a comfortable silence surrounding us both, but it was broken by a question.

"So how do you transform into a wolf anyways?" he asked out of the blues. I thought of the right words to choose... I trusted Naruto. He wasn't like the rest. I felt comfortable and safe... like he wouldn't look down on me.

"It's in my clan. The Ookami clan, clan of the wolves. One every seven generations gets this ability, and I just happen to be the lucky one. It gives me the ability to shift into a wolf, and have the visions of a wolf, and heat vision for some reason. I can see so much better in the dark. It's pretty cool," I smiled at him.

He looked up the darkening sky and pondered.

"What happened to your clan? Did they get assassinated or something?" he asked without thinking of the consequences. I frowned and looked at the sky. I put my hands behind my head and started explaining.

"Well my clan shunned me, which is very unlike the Ookami clan, ever since I was born. To put it all together, they saw me as a threat in every way possible. Half of the reason is because of my gained ability. So they tried keeping me in control, but I always rebelled. Life's no fun when people who hate you are trying to treat you like a dog with rabies," I said glaring at the sky as if it hated me.

He didn't say much for a while, but gained the courage on asking.

"What's the other reason that they saw you as a threat?" he asked, hoping it wasn't too much of a personal question. I gave him a sad smile and simply told him.

"For something they did to me," he got the point and didn't push any further. My house was another minute away, when a question seemed to pop up in my head.

"Where do you live, Naruto?" he looked at me a bit shocked.

"Um… next to this grey house, in front of this lady with twenty cats or something" he said trying to remember how many cats the poor woman had.

"Cats?" I wondered. He lived by a woman with many cats. "Do you live by a very loud woman who screams at her drunken husband?" He paused and thought about it.

"Oh Yeah! She always yells at him for coming home ...late... Where **do **you live anyways?" he asked with questioning, shocked eyes on his face.

"Um, I live right there," I said, pointing to the small gray house. "Where do **you** live?" I asked trying to put two and two together. He pointed at the house across me. It was a small brown house. My neighbor was the cat lady and his neighbor was the drunk. My eyes widened and his mouth dropped. We both felt extremely silly and chuckled at our slowness.

"We've been neighbors this whole time and we never knew it till now," I laughed.

"I guess it's because I always leave late and mess around when you leave early and keep a low profile," he joined in.

"Well I gotta go sleep now. We have to train tomorrow remember?" I said smiling.

"Sure," He smiled, "Hey Yami, we have to hang out more sometimes. Alright?" he said walking backwards to his house.

"Yeah, that'd be awesome. See you tomorrow," I waved and went in my house.

As the moon rose and the sun slept

_She's really nice_ thought Naruto going to sleep. Dreaming happily about ramen.

_I have a friend...finally_ was my final thought when I drifted into a dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto's Pov

**Naruto's Pov**

I woke up earlier than my alarm clock, which **never** happened. I yawned, then scratched my head and thought, _Maybe today's going to be a good day or something... I need Ramen_

I passed out asleep on my bed after the thought... Hey. I might have woken up earlier than the clock, but that did not mean that my day was going to start at 6:00.

**Yami's Pov**

I woke up at 6:15 as usual, stretching a bit before getting up. I took a warm shower and got ready within 15 minutes. Since I had 20 minutes to spare, I decided to see if Naruto got up, or if he went to sleep in again.

As I was walking towards his house, which was right across the street, I started thinking how strange it was that we became friends so quickly.

_I guess that means that this will be a lasting friendship... hopefully,_ I thought with a slightly frustrated look. It was annoying getting backstabbed, and quite frankly I was getting sick of it. I was **not** going to mess up this friendship.

_As if I messed up the other friendships I had,_ I pessimistically thought while rolling my eyes.

I knocked on his door and got no response.

"Naruto!" I called out for him, but got no response. I switched my vision and saw a pile of heat on, what seemed to be, a bed through the door. My eye twitched and I decided to invite myself in. As expected, he didn't lock his door as usual. A visible sweat drop appeared in the back of my head because of how predictable to random boy was.

_Gotta remind him to lock his doors_

I entered his house and found a small but messy kitchen filled with empty ramen cups on the counter and table.

_Obsession...?_

I went in, ignoring the strong smell of ramen, and knocked on his bedroom door and still got no answer. I sighed and opened the door to see Naruto tangled in his bed sheets. I couldn't help but grin once I saw his pajamas. His sky blue sleeping hat was just so **kawaii**! I decided to poke him till he got up. poke poke

"Naruto, wake up, you're late," he didn't flinch. So I did the quickest and simplest thing possible.

I smacked him. SMACK

**Naruto's pov**

I was sleeping peacefully until my heart nearly popped out of my chest. I felt a stinging pain on my head and just assumed that I got smacked on the head. I feverishly looked up to see Yami staring at me with a grin on her face that she wouldn't wipe off. I looked at her seriously confused, and looked down at me.

_Oh. My. God!!_

My eyes widened as I realized that I was still in my pajamas. I hid myself under the covers and told her, "What are you doing here?!" It was more of a shriek though.

"You're gonna be late. Get ready, I'll cook you some food," I heard her laugh as she left and closed the door. I peeked out of the bed sheets to make sure that she left and let out a sigh.

…_Finally..._

I decided to just do what she told me to and got ready. I took a shower and got myself ready and everything. I left my bedroom to smell something that was definitely **not **ramen, but it still smelled good. I sat down on my chair and waited for her to finish when she turned around with a plate full of non-ramen goodness.

"Here you go. Here are some eggs and bacon. There's toast on the side, and cheese in the eggs. Try it," she said as she smiled at me. I looked at her strangely, still not used to her gentleness, but ate the food anyways. My mouth immediately watered once I tasted it. I gulped it down **almost** as fast as I would have done if it were ramen.

"That was delicious, Yami! How did you learn how to cook so well?" The food was amazing. Who knew something could taste so good and isn't ramen.

She chuckled nervously and gave me a silly grin.

"Years of practice"

I looked up at her and felt so happy. No one would even consider cooking for me or even spending time with me. She was the only one beside Iruka sensei, but Iruka was an adult and teacher, so we couldn't connect as well as I did with Yami.

_I'm not going to mess this up. It's too good to be messed up_

**Yami's Pov**

A blush ran across my face when Naruto complimented my cooking. He was the only one I actually ever cooked for.

"Come on, Naruto, we'll be late if we don't hurry"

"Alright, alright," he reluctantly said, dragging his words.

**Meeting grounds**

We walked into the meeting ground, laughing about random, silly things, when I found a grumpy Sasuke and an impatient Sakura.

"**When** is the sensei getting here? **Where** the hell is the he anyways?" she growled out of frustration.

"Shut up already," muttered the grumpy Uchiha.

All four of us waited for thirty minutes for our sensei. Sasuke was grumbling, Sakura complaining, Naruto whining, and I was twitching.

Out of the blues, Kakashi-sensei appeared with a 'poof'.

Sakura glared at him, expecting a reasonable explanation. All she got was, "I'm sorry but I was lost on the road of life and didn't know what to do with my life anymore," he said while smiling, trying to hide his sweat drop. He got three more sweat drops once he found his students giving him terribly, frightening death glares.

_Holy crap, they're scary when they're mad. Is thirty minutes really that bad?_

"So anyways, we're going to learn how to control our chakra today. Most likely, you don't know how to do it since you just came out of the academy, but you'll probably catch on real quick," he smiled, avoiding his pupils' glares.

He walked past us and went deeper into the forest, by the river.

"First we are going to climb these trees," he pointed to four tall trees. Just about everyone had a look of confidence until he said, "without using our hands."

"WITHOUT OUR HANDS? HOW ARE WE GONNA DO THAT!!" cried out the blond.

"We're going to focus on the chakra on our feet and climb the tree. D'uh," Sakura said trying to impress Sasuke.

"Good job Sakura," smiled Kakashi-sensei

_Teacher's pet. _I looked at her... _cross that out, Sasuke obsession._

"Alright team, pick your tree," announced our sensei.

Of course Naruto and Sasuke being competitive picked the highest trees there. Sakura picked the tree next to Sasuke's, and I just picked the one in front of me, which happened to be next to Naruto.

"If you can't reach the top, mark the tree with your kunais, "explained Kakashi-sensei

I knew I could do it. I trained my chakra control ever since I was a kid, but I wasn't going to show off, so I went behind the tree and walked up to the top branch.

_Where did Yami go,_ wondered the sensei. He looked at the highest branch of the tree to see her sitting there, looking down at everyone. His eyes widened._ She couldn't have possibly gone there so fast that I couldn't see her_.

Sakura ran up the tree and completed the task. For some reason, as competitive as the boys were, they couldn't complete their goal.

Naruto fell onto the floor panting as they were trying to go on the highest branch, but couldn't control their chakra.

**Naruto's Pov**

"Hey Naru, are you ok?" I heard a familiar voice ask. I didn't even bother opening my eyes as I was trying to catch my breath on the floor.

"How do you do it?" I asked tiredly out of breath.

"Mhm? Oh that alright, I'll tell you, but you need to get up," she instructed. I got up quickly, finally gaining my breath, and waited for her explanation.

"Well close your eyes" I saw nothing..." relax..." I felt nothing..." Feel your chakra flowing through your body" I felt energy... "Focus them on your feet" I opened my eyes... "Keep on focusing"... I focused..."run" I ran up the tree and kept on running. I was ten feet from the top but lost control because I got too cocky. I felt hard onto the floor and groaned in pain.

_So close..._ I thought looking at the top of the tree.

"Keep on practicing Naruto, I'm sure you'll get it" she smiled a confident smile at me, and all of the sudden, I felt a rush of confidence flow through me.

_Alright Naruto, you can do it. Just do what Yami told you_. I closed my eyes and attempted again and again, until it was sunset.

The Uchiha boy was gradually better, but still couldn't fully control his chakra. Eventually, using all of his will to not gag, the wall (Being as social as one) finally decided to ask for **help** from **Sakura** of all people. The sight was **extremely** amusing, as Sasuke tried not to kill himself, and as Sakura was floating on a cloud she knew what awaited her.

"Sakura... Will you?" exasperated sigh, "Can you help me with this chakra crap?" You could see that she was close to fainting, but succeeded at standing erect.

"Um. Sure! Here's what you do," she kept her cool the entire time, but when he turned around, she completely lost it. Squealing like a little school girl getting her first kiss, and doing her little happy dance. She did all of this without drawing much attention from her.

**Yami's Pov**

"Alright Team, we'll do this again in the morning, and get a D ranked mission in the afternoon," was the last thing he said today. He gave off a wave signaling his departure and disappeared with a 'poof'.  
Naruto jumped up in excitement.

"We're finally getting a mission tomorrow! Alright!" he yelled in excitement. "It's only going to be a D ranked mission though..." he said, all of his excitement quickly disappearing. I put an arm over his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Come on, Naruto, they can't just give us an A ranked mission in the beginning. They're just testing us. So we gotta do our best when we're on these little missions first, so they can give us an important mission that'll get you to be Hokage quicker, right?" I smiled at him.

_Why can't I stop smiling around him?_

My smiled flickered, but no one noticed, so I was good.

"Come on, Naruto. Let's go to my place and I'll cook you something with noodles," I hinted walking away from him. He stayed there, wondering my words, until he finally got it. A grin grew on his face.

"Hey! Wait up!" he shouted, running after me.

**Sakura's Pov**

I stared at the spot where their sensei left and saw how Yami and Naruto were together after just two days, they were best friends.

_They sure grew fast on each other. I wish I could be like that with Sasuke..._

I sadly thought at the intangible wish.


	5. Chapter 5

This chapter will have cursings

**This chapter will have cursings. **

**Some might think that it would have been better without any cursings**

**but it adds more effect in the words.**

**Sorry if you highly look down on cursings**

**Naruto's Pov**

I woke up, filled with energy, with my loud alarm clock ringing in my ears. I shut it off quickly, angry at the annoying ringing sound. I got up and got ready. Even after the shower, I wasn't completely awake.

With drowsiness clouding my vision, I walked outside forgetting to lock the door as usual, and walked in Yami's house, into her bedroom, and fell asleep on her bed.

"Mhmyameegh..." I yawned loudly "you go...tta...get ..." another yawn "ready..." then I fully fell asleep on her comfy bed.

(**A/N: Jeez. Just typing that made me yawn uncontrollably:)**

**Yami's Pov**

I just got out of the shower and wore my towel around my body. Just as I was going to get my clothes in my bedroom, I saw a certain blond sprawled on it. A sweat drop appeared on the back of my head as I wondered, _when the hell did he get here?_

I went to get my clothes, which were lying next to him, and decided to get changed in the bathroom.

I came out, ready and clothed, to see Naruto drooling on my pillow. A light snore came from him once I finished my staring and I silently awe'd in my thoughts. I checked my simple clock on the wall and saw that we should have left ten minutes ago. I shrugged it off since Kakashi-sensei always came late anyways, but at the same time, I didn't want to come too late, so I decided to wake up the snoring baka.

"Hey baka, wake up," he didn't move, so I thought of doing something slightly evil. Just _slightly_. I got on top of him and breathed out on his ear, making him slightly shiver. I deepened my voice, like a certain douche bag, and whispered huskily.

"Come on Dobe, wake up. I don't want you to miss this," I almost laughed out loud for just saying it.

He widened his eyes in complete shock and sunk his head as deep as it could go in the pillow. A shocked gasp came out of his lips and his muscles tensed quickly. He looked around quickly to see me on top of him.

He relaxed and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in.

I laughed so hard that I fell off the bed, as he was glaring at me shouting threats and curses at me. 

**Naruto's Pov**

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? I SERIOUSLY THOUGHT IT WAS THAT TEME BACK THERE!? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT SCARED ME?! I THOUGHT I WAS BEING- I THOUGHT IT WAS THAT TEME!" I shouted with all my might as I saw her continue to laugh harder. I let out a very frustrated growl pass my lips.

_That really scared me! I mean Sasuke raping me is not on my "to do" list._ "Come on... We're gonna be late," I mumbled, getting off of her bed. I walked out of her house, sulk, and started walking towards the meeting grounds. She ran towards me asking for my apology with a satisfied grin on her face. I glared at her saying nothing, slightly speeding up to ignore her. I didn't hear her steps after a while, and stared behind me to see nothing. I looked right back ahead of me to see a grey dog looking at me with a pleading look. I _awe_d in my head and quickly went to give the dog a hug. I started feeling the shape in your arms morphing into a shape of a person.

I looked back to where the dog was supposed to be, to see Yami.

"I guess I'm forgiven?" she said, questioning the situation at hand. I let go of her quickly and glared at her.

"That was a dirty trick," I mumbled.

"Am I forgiven?" She said pouting. I didn't say anything for a while, but smiled and said, "Yeah! Of course you are! Who could stay mad at a face like that?" I laughed. I suddenly stopped when I felt arms around me. I heard her laughing and hugging me and felt genuinely happy.

We went on walking to the meeting grounds, not even worrying about being late.

...

_For some reason, all of this comes naturally to me_, I stopped to look at my best friend laughing at a joke I had just made, _and it makes me so happy._

Neither two ever had a best friend.

In fact they never had a real friend

Now they did and never wanted to let go

For they finally had the support they've been looking for

**Sasuke's Pov**

I waited for our sensei and teammates, leaning against a tree, glaring at a sky. _Why do I even bother coming early anyways? I'm always the one stuck with the pink haired girl who never shuts up for an hour._ I rolled my eyes when she tried talking to me again.

_I DON'T LIKE YOU! GO AWAY! __**KICHIGAI**__, _I yelled in my head. In my thoughts, I was very much out of character. I couldn't help it. I just knew that some thoughts were just meant to stay in my head.

I looked around to see that the dobe and the girl were missing.

_Where are the two bakas anyw-, _I stopped mid-thought once I heard a happy laugh that could make anyone want to smile. It was an honest, happy laugh. I looked towards the direction of the sound to see Yami getting a piggyback ride from Naruto while he was running, making her laugh harder. I stared at the two, _Mhm seems like the dobe likes someone._

I smirked in your head. There was no way in hell I would have smirked in reality. I did **not** want to explain why or look insane. I just wanted everyone to leave me alone once and for all.

...

_No reason to get hurt by getting attached again anyways..._, I thought, feeling a sudden sadness as I stared at the two playful ninjas. Never would I admit to it. But I was truly lonely and jealous of Naruto for once.

**Yami's Pov**

I was laughing so much because Naruto kept on twirling around with me on his back. I never had this much fun just hanging around a person, but alas, all of the excitement disappeared as the sensei decided to appear 20 minutes later than usual, which meant that Naruto and I waited for the sensei for one hour, while Sakura and Sasuke waited for two hours.

Sakura was fuming at the overly tardy sensei and Naruto was just bored out of his mind trying to entertain himself. Both Sasuke and I shared something for once. We were both extremely annoyed by our teammates. Sasuke glared and glared at the grass, almost making the grass catch in flames from his fiery glare while I nearly ripped out all of the hairs on my head.

"Where's the sensei?? Come on I wanna **train** so I can beat this **teme** up," exclaimed the blond. A sweat drop appeared in the back of my head.

_Why is starting things up the only solution to his boredom?_

This angered the brunet greatly, and he got up and glared at the blond. Their faces were so close to each other that I could literally see the competitive sparks flowing between them. Anyone who had a brain knew better than to go in between those two.

I didn't even bother to break up the fight, since it would just result in a bigger fight anyways, but thank goodness that all tension was taken off the boys and put on the random sensei.

"Again," Sakura took a breath, **trying** to calm down. "You're **LATE**," she shouted the world 'late'. He sighed in despair, trying to evade the attention directed onto him.

"So today, we're going to continue on controlling our chakra," he dully said, taking out his book and reading it. He tried ignoring us once again for a couple of hours to avoid everyone's complaints and Sakura's wrath by reading his book. Once he didn't hear anything, he looked up from his book and gave us a questioning, careless look.

"What are you still doing here? You know what to do," he turned his back on us and went to sit by a tree, under a cool shade.

"Some teacher you are," mumbled Sakura under her breath, but complied with his orders. She went to her picked tree and tried walking on it without using too much chakra, which meant a great deal of chakra control. I just shrugged and rested on the floor taking a nap.

No need to train when you can take a good nap.

**Naruto's Pov**

I saw her taking a nap and sweat dropped. Sometimes, she reminded me of Shikamaru. I went to train some more and remembered her advice.

_Close your eyes... _I closed your eyes._ Relax..._ I let out a deep breath. _Feel your chakra flowing through your body_... I focused. _Focus them on your feet_. I focused some more. _Keep on focusing_. I opened my eyes with determination.

_Run_, the thought echoed through my thoughts.

I ran up the tree, filled with willpower.

I ran and ran, while keeping my focus.

At some point, I focused too much on running and was now at the very top of the tree trying not to fall. Being a magnet to accidents, I fell, forgetting to keep my chakra under control once I started gloating. But as luck was on my side, my shirt got caught in one of the branches. I let out a sigh of relief that I didn't fall and climbed up the branch and let out a victory yell.

"Kakashi-sensei, look, I finally did it!!" I shouted.

His sensei looked and saw that Naruto in fact did succeed at controlling his chakra. In fact, he was still doing it without even knowing it. He looked to his left and saw that Sasuke also succeed but didn't make much of a scene as his blond teammate. The grey haired sensei sighed that he'd have to stop reading his book and put it away.

He got up and stretched, giving a low yawn.

"Alright team, I'm going to need your attention for this. Can someone wake up Yami for me? I need **everyone**'s attention right now," he said emphasizing the word 'attention'.

I gave off an annoyed sigh, seeing that no one else would do it, and stood by her resting body, nudging her with my foot. I did it again and she still didn't wake up. Finally, I kicked her sides a bit harder, but not hard enough to break a bone, or leave a bruise.

"Ow," said the young Ookami waking up. She opened her eyes, slowly waking up, and gave off a groan. "That hurted," I gave her a grin that showed that I wasn't sorry at all. She mildly glared at me but got up anyways.

"What's up, sensei," she said holding in a yawn and thought, _five more minutes, please._

He raised his eyebrow at her and answered, "Well, today team, we're going to do an exercise before going off on a mission. Follow me," he ordered as he walked towards a tree branch and stopped in front of it. "I want you to use your chakra and stand under the branch"

"WHY?!" I yelled.

_What the hell is this going to help with anyways?_

The sensei flinched at the sudden outburst.

"I want to see how well you can control your chakra"

**Kakashi's Pov**

_Let's see. This exercise is going to show me a lot of things about my students,_ I thought not showing any emotion on my masked face.

My students hung upside down from a branch as I examined them.

Sakura wasn't flinching much, but it was easy to tell that she was focusing real hard on it.

_Seems that Sakura might need a bit more training on endurance..._

Naruto was hanging upside with a grin, that randomly flickered meaning that he lost focus a few times.

_Naruto needs to focus more._

Sasuke was hanging upside, as he held a face with no emotions what's so ever (just like his sensei!), but clinched his fist once in a while.

_He used too much chakra today._

I looked at Yami as she was hanging upside, looking quite dead.

_She is a wonder…_I thought, letting her dead-looking appearance go.

Five minutes passed by, and Sakura was the first to fall. Her face was so red from hanging upside down for that long, that it almost matched her hair.

Six minutes later, both Sasuke and Naruto fell at the same, trying to catch their breaths. I looked at my students and checked off my mental list.

_1 obsessive pink headed girl_, I looked at Sakura, _Check._

_1 obnoxious blond_, Naruto, _Check._

_1 anti-social brunette_, Sasuke, _Check._

_Now where is my purple haired student?_

I looked up to see her sleeping, still hanging upside down from the tree. A sweat drop appeared behind my head, _is that even possible?_

I blinked a couple of times; still not believing that she was sleeping from the start, and poked my student.

"Um… Yami? You need to wake up," She opened her eyes in shock from the fifth poke and fell off the branch with a loud 'Woah!'. I looked at her and thought, _Yep. She sure is a strange one. I'll need to talk to the Hokage about this..._

"We're going to get a D ranked mission. Let's go," I walked ahead of my students, knowing that they had no other option than following their sensei. I walked, ignoring **any** complaints from Naruto or Sakura, and kept on walking towards the Hokage's building. I climbed up the flight of stairs and walked through the halls. I waited in front of his door, as my students started to catch up, and knocked on the door waiting for a response.

"Come in," said an old, deep voice.

I walked in to see the third, sitting in his tall seat with a desk filled with folders and paperwork.

"Ah, Hatake, Kakashi! What exactly do you come by for?" he asked taking a smoke from the pipe, loosely hanging from his lips.

"I came here to request a D or C ranked mission, the Third" I formally requested. The Hokage nodded and went through his files to look for a mission suitable for my team.

"Mhm… this mission is a good start off." He said as he handed it to me. I took the file from him and read it silently to myself.

Mission rank: D

Client: Mrs. Maku

Mission: Retrieve lost and untamed ferret.

Amount paid: 500 each.

Description: Black with brown paws, with a white nose and baby pink eyes.

For more information, look onto page 3.

I shrugged, figuring that this was a good first mission. The pay was even well for an easy mission.

"Thank you, Hokage. This will do," I thanked him. He gave me a smile and went back to work.

"Come on team, we have a mission"

"What is it? WHAT IS IT HUH?!" Naruto yelled with stars in his eyes. He was certainly expecting much for a first.

**Yami's Pov**

"A ferret?!" he yelled in disappointment. I sighed.

_I give up. The boy will forever be loud._

"Her name is Mrs. Maku. She's husband to Mr. Maku, Konoha's famous painter," he stated. I raised my eyebrows in interest, since I was interested in art.

_Maku? Mhm, this will be interesting. He has great talent. I didn't know he was married._

"Apparently, she lost the little thing while going for a walk. It jumped out of her hands and ran off. She couldn't get it because it was a crowded place, and they were slowing her down."

"Let's go find the lil' ferret then," I announced. The team agreed and we all separated.

**After a whole lot of chasing**

I fell to the floor trying to gain my breath. That **little** thing could run **fast**. _No wonder Mrs. Maku couldn't catch up to it, _I thought. I was the one able to hold it and it scratched and bit me numerous times, causing a scar or two. It didn't hurt that much, honestly, it was when I decided to wash off the blood, it started to sting painfully. I looked at the little critter, growling and such, trying to break free again.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Maku was not the common rich house wife, who was obnoxious, loud, and conceited. She was quite the opposite. She was quiet, timid, yet always happy. She always smiled and thought of others rather than herself. It was something that I could tell right away. She was just as quiet as Hinata, but as joyful as Naruto. She had striking blue hair that reached to her knees, and bright strange yellow eyes.

"Thank you very much for finding Ruki," she smiled, slightly wincing at the new scratch the ferret added. I sighed and walked up to our now former client and looked at her in the eyes and asked, "May I?" She looked confused but nodded her head and gave me the growling Ruki. I took Ruki in my hands and lifted it up to my eye level. I intensely stared into its baby pink eyes. The corner of my mouth twitched into a smile and handed it back to its owner. I whispered into my former client's ear, "Give it a walk and let it go where it wishes. It has to do something," I informed her. "By the way, what gender is it? I feel a little disrespectful called it…well 'it'" She smiled at me, still feeling lost and confused, and told me, "She's a girl". I continued to tell her that the little ferret didn't have any hate in her eyes, just determination. I walked away from her and left the room, leaving the confused woman in thought.

Kakashi just shrugged and gave the team their first pay. Just as Naruto was going to leave to catch up with Yami, he was stopped by his sensei asking him a question. "Hey Naruto, can you give Yami her pay too?" He handed him the letter, not really bothering to wait for an answer.

"Thanks," he said and walked away from the blond. Naruto glared at the teacher, but went to go find Yami anyways. Coincidently, she was waiting for him by the door. He handed her the letter and said, "here" He gave her a smile, but then questioned her "What did you tell Mrs.Maku anyways? She looked like a lost puppy" he questionably raised a brow. I gave him a little smile.

"Naruto...do you think that things just happen?" he looked a bit taken back by the odd question.

"No... not really. What do you mean?" he was pointlessly confused by this point.

"I think everything has a reason," I looked up to the sky. "Whether it's keeping a secret or loving someone or something or making decisions," I looked back at the blond to find that he was actually listening to me. "It could be your choice... or even destiny…" I continued, letting out breath, getting rid of the seriousness in my body. I kinda shook myself, then smiled at Naruto. "But I'll always believe that there's a reason for everything. You know?" I didn't really expect an answer but, not too surprisingly, he gave me one anyways.

"Yeah. I know what you mean" he stood in his spot. "But... what if you can't find a reason? Does everything still have a reason?" he softly said, slightly frowning. This made me frown.

_What's on your mind Naruto...?_

His frown immediately got replaced with a cover-up smile. "So what **did** you tell the lady anyways?" he went back to his original question, which I almost forgot. I smiled very slightly at him, knowing that something was deeply bothering him, and answered him.

"Well, the ferret wasn't scared or anything, but looked angry and determined to do something. The best way to fix that 'running away every day' plan is to just let Ruki do what she needs to do." I said just shrugging. He shook his head vigorously.

"Yep, yep. Got it! Now come on! We need to go eat some Ramen," he grinned, dragging me along to his favorite Ramen stand. I sadly smiled, while he was looking the other way, and thought, _Naruto...what's bothering you?_

**A couple of months after (2-4)**

**Naruto's Pov**

I woke with a joyful yawn today, which was odd, but what was even odder was that I was filled with energy too. Maybe today would be a good day?

_Who knows? _

I did my usual routine and took my shower then got ready. When I came out of the bathroom, I saw shattered fragments of broken window with a bunch of pebbles on the floor. I ran to see if the temes who had done this were still outside. I looked outside through the hole in my window and saw a bunch of guys who looked like they were around 18-28 years old. They all glared at me murderously, but I knew that they wouldn't do much because they looked like they didn't have any ninja skills.

My eyes widened, but then lost life in them once I looked at my calendar above which hung above my bed... Today was the day... the day where the fourth sacrificed himself for the village... the day most hate me for... the day where their hate grew more than usual...

_The day when the kyuubi was sealed...inside... me._

My good mood was drowned with emotions of guilt, hate, and sadness.

"Go back to **hell fox** **boy**!"

"Get the fuck out of the Konoha, you **freak**!"

"We don't need Hokage **killers** in this village!!"

"**Murderer!**"

"**Freak!**"

"Piece of **worthless **shit!"

I crouched down, hugging my knees, slightly shaking from fear, waiting for them to eventually go away. I learned after a while to not fight with them, because then they start hating me even more, and **I** was always the one to get in trouble for fighting back.

The words had stung me right in the heart and I just waited for them to stop. It was almost as if I was waiting for someone to rescue me from the emotional hell I was born into.

"Get away from there!" I heard a familiar voice shout. Moments later, I heard footsteps slowly fading away. The door opened with a squeak and footsteps slowly approached me.

I built up the courage to look up, to see my best friend.

The only one who could take me out of this emotional hell.

My rescuer…

**Yami's Pov**

I stared at my best friend and the look in his eye filled me up with guilt and made my heart ache like it never had. I stared at his shivering form in the dark corner with his sky blue, teary eyes standing out in the shadow. His eyes showed so much vulnerability and fright, that I felt more guilt for not even being able to prevent his pain. I saw him trying to smile, as if to tell me he was ok, but failed miserably. Before having the time to think of my actions, I dropped to my knees and held him safe in my arms, comforting him in any way I could.

I never had to do this in my life, nor had I ever felt such sadness or longing to cheer someone up. To sum it all up, I was quite new to all of this.

Yet, it seemed so natural when it came to Naruto.

I felt him shiver in my arms and my shoulder becoming warm and damp. The blond boy shivered, holding in some breaths, trying to calm himself down. I stared down at him, deeply confused. What was bothering him so much?

Tears formed from my eyes. I never thought that I'd see Naruto so... sad. I hugged him tightly, reassuring him that I would stay by his side no matter what. This seemed to cause him to shake even more, which I really didn't understand why.

He hugged me back, slightly grabbing me, while burying his head into my shoulder. I heard a slight whimper and saw more tears falling from his face. The both of us sat in a corner, hugging each other.

I waited for his tears to come to an end and carefully asked him.

"Naruto, why were they yelling at you like that? Did you do something?" I looked to see Naruto's eyes dead. He suddenly got up and masked his face with a fake smile.

"Come on, Yami! Nothing happened Yami, come on let's go so we won't be late for training, we might get a good mission today," he said his voice _suddenly_ filled with enthusiasm. I frowned at the sudden change of feelings and how even after all of that, he still managed to cover everything up with a smile.

_How much did you have to go through to learn how to cover up your feelings so well... Naru-chan..._

I completely ignored the fact that I came up with a nickname for Naruto, which implied that he was my _boyfriend_ (chan) and got up.

We walked towards the meeting grounds, not saying much at all, which was a first. Naruto still had that fake smile on his face and it was really bothering me. Why did they say all of those mean things to him?

_"Go back to __**hell fox**__**boy**__!"_

_  
"Get the fuck out of the Konoha you __**freak**__!"_

_"We don't need Hokage __**killers**__ in this village!!"_

_"__**Murderer!**__"_

_"__**Freak!**__"_

_"Piece of __**worthless **__shit!"_

I winced remembering the harshness of their words. I stopped walking and grabbed Naruto's wrist. It was as if he knew what I was going to say, because his mask came off and was replaced by a frown. I breathed in and sighed, "Naruto... what happened back there?" I said with a sad tone. He looked up at me with the same look of vulnerability in his eyes.

"Yami, look, can we please not talk about this now? I promise that I'll talk about it later, alright?" he said a bit desperately. I nodded my head and released his wrist.

"Tonight?"

"Yeah...tonight," he said with a bit of uncertainty. He kept on walking then gave me a smile. "I'll race ya," I smiled back at him.

"We're late anyways so sure," we both took our place and ran.

A vendor who was selling some home-made accessories looked up to see children talking. He looked down to see if his items were in order, he looked back up to see if any customers were near by, but the only thing he saw was puff of dust and dirt. He looked to his right to see the kids racing off, a bit faster than normal. A visible sweat drop appeared in the back of his head.

_**.:KICHIGAI:. You're crazy!**_

_**.:Teme:.Bastard**_


	6. Chapter 6

Kakashi-sensei entered the Hokage's office with his team with his book in hand, as usual

Kakashi-sensei entered the Hokage's office with his team with his book in hand, as usual.

"Hokage, I'm here to request another mission?" lazily asked/said the sensei. The third looked onto his desk filled with scrolls. He picked out one from the **C** section.

"So you retrieved Mrs. Maku her ferret? Alright then, here's another mission for your team Kakashi: Babysitting Yojyu-sama's boy, grocery shopping at the neighboring town, basically things around that category," he dragged on. The file almost reached the sensei's hands, but Naruto's very loud yell, made the Third jump and drop the file onto the floor.

"ANOTHER BABYSITTING MISSION!! I can't take this anymore," he screamed "I'm ready for some **real** missions! I'M SICK OF BABYSITTING AND GARDEN- **KYA**," he screamed as he was interrupted with a smack on the head from Sakura, who gave him a lecture about being polite to your elders, **especially** the Hokage.

_There's some truth to that_, thought the raven-haired boy. He was also getting sick of the easy and pointless missions.

_What a troublesome guy,_ thought Sakura with a glare on her face, as she continued to pull on his ear.

Kakashi sensei slouched and thought with a heavy sigh, _I knew he was going to do this soon._

"Naruto, you **baka**! You respect the Hokage!" she shouted, disciplining him with a harsh glare. He muttered under his breath. "What did you say," she murderously said through her teeth. He looked up at her in fear and stuttered a 'nothing' to keep her calm.

A sweat drop appeared in the back of my head as Iruka sensei, who sat next to the Hokage, shouted at Naruto for being such an idiot.

Iruka was there to help hand out missions to the young ninjas, along with other teachers.

"Idiot! You're still a novice ninja! Everyone needs to start with the easy missions to gain experience!"

_**(novice: a person who is new to the circumstances, work, etc., in which he or she is placed; beginner; tyro: a novice in politics.)**_

"But we've been only doing dumb missions lately!" argued the blond. He got punched in the head by the grey-haired sensei. It wasn't a harsh punch, but a simple connection with his fist to Naruto's head.

"Cut it out," he stated, being bored with the scene.

"I'll have to agree with the back, **this time**, but these missions are getting too easy and I think we're ready for **B** ranked mission or _something_," Sasuke growled out to himself.

The Hokage let out a sigh and stared team 7. Every generation, there was a team such as ours.

"Naruto, it looks like I need to explain to you what missions are," stated the Third. Naruto stopped rubbing his head and listened.

"Listen, a lot of clients come to this village everyday. They request things from babysitting to assassinations. On the request list, a variety of request are listed on it and they are separated into different ranks: **A**, **B**, **C**, and **D** according to difficulty."

"In this village, we separate the people into: Jounins, Chuunins, and Genins according to their abilities and experiences," he explained.

The third- Hokage (Leader)

Kakashi- Jounin (Elite)

Iruka -Chuunins (Commoners)

Team 7 -Genins (Cadets)

Academy- (Candidates)

"We higher officials assign the missions to ninja with the appropriate abilities," he went on.

(J-jounin, C-Chuunin, G-Genin)

(A . B . C . D - Request mission)

A . B . C . D

Jo. Ch. Ge

(Jounins receive **A** ranked missions)

(Chunnin receive **B** or **C** ranked missions)

(Genin receive **C** or **D** ranked missions)

"And if we complete the mission," he continued, "We receive a fee from the client. You have all become Genins just recently, so **D** ranked missions are best for you, due to your lack of experience," the third ended his sentence wisely. He was being quite serious throughout his explanation, giving Naruto a lecture, only to find that the blond wasn't paying attention.

"LISTEN!" shouted the Hokage.

Kakashi looked around sheepishly "I'm sorry," he put his book behind his back after being found at not paying attention to his Hokage's speech.

"You always lecture like me that, pops, but I'm not the kid who used to pull pranks anymore!" he huffed in anger.

A sweat drop appeared in the back of my head again and Kakashi rubbed the back of his head.

_I'm going to get scolded later..., _sadly thought the silver-haired jounin.

The Hokage and Iruka loosened up, while smiling a bit at the boy's speech.

_He was only able to express himself through pranks, but…_ thought Naruto's former teacher, Iruka.

"Okay, I understand," said the Hokage. Team 7 was shocked that he actually listened to the blond. "If you insist, I will allow you to take on a **C** ranked mission," he said with an old smile.

"It's to escort a certain person..."

A wave of joy washed over Naruto and a permanent grin stayed on his face... but yet again he had his hopes too high again.

"Can you please come in now?" stated the Third. The door opened and a gruffly, drunk-looking man came in, drinking Sake. "What! They're all kids! I hate 'em all," he shouted as he took another sip of his Sake. "Is the short douche bag with the stupid look on his face really a ninja?" I immediately slouched, knowing who he was referring to.

Naruto laughed, not getting it was he who was the '_douche bag with the stupid look on his face_'.

"Haha! Who's the shortest here with the stupid look on his face?" he said with a grin.

Sakura, Sasuke, and I stood by Naruto, showing him our heights. Sasuke was the tallest, followed by me, and then Sakura. Naruto was the shortest of us all...

The boy gained a sour look on his face, once he realized this. A sweat drop once again appeared in the back of my head.

_Oh dear, the 'short' thing is going to happen again, _I thought worrying about the upcoming outburst.

Sometimes, Naruto got a **little** bit insulted when people talked about his height.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU," he screamed, being held back by Kakashi-sensei.

Alright, so maybe **little** was a big understatement.

"I am the bridge building expert, Tazuna. Once I have returned to my country, I will have you all protect my life with yours while I complete bridge," said the rude and currently drunk man.

There was no argument there, our mission was to protect this man, and we had no option but to do it.

**At the gate of Konoha**

Of course, as soon we left the village, Naruto was the most excited out of the team.

"Why are you so excited?" asked Sakura, bored.

"Because I've never gone outside the village before," he said overly excited, looking around. I smiled being in the same situation as him.

Tazuna's eyes twitched and asked, "Is this kid going to be able to handle this mission?" Naruto, hearing what he said, had that sour look on his face again.

Kakashi chuckled and reassured Tazuna, "I, a Jounin, will be accompanying you. There's no need to worry."

Tazuna's words echoed in Naruto's head, as his eye twitched. He was getting real annoyed by the old geezer. I put my arm around his shoulders, trying to calm him down before he did something stupid; but alas, he got out of my grip.

"Hey, don't underestimate me old geezer! I'm going to be the next Hokage. The name is Uzumaki, Naruto. Remember it!"

And of course, being the old geezer he was, he disagreed with him, and again, being the stubborn blond **he** is, Naruto snapped back at him.

"I'm going to kill you!"

Kakashi-sensei grabbed Naruto's collar and dragged him along, going on with their missions, and not letting Naruto kill his client.

I heard an unfamiliar rustle in the bushes, but paid no attention to it.

**After a couple of minutes of walking**

"Hey, Tazuna-san..." wondered Sakura.

"What"

"You're from the country of the Wave, right?"

"What about it?"

_Jeez, the geezer is always grumpy,_I thought as listened to the conversation.

"Kakashi-sensei, are there also ninja in that country?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Yes, there are ninjas in the Country of the Wave, but although the culture and customs of other countries may be different, hidden village and ninjas do exist."

I wondered how much Kakashi-sensei really knew. He never seemed to hesitate when answering a question.

"To the many countries that exist on this land, the existence of ninja villages is equivalent of the country's military powers. In other words, that is how they are able to maintain the relationship with neighboring countries. But the villages aren't under control of that country. They are supposedly equal in position."

He stretched a bit then continued, "On a small island like the Country of the Wave, where it's difficult to be influence by other countries. There is no _need_ for a ninja village."

He paused taking a breath.

"Among the countries that have a ninja village, since the five countries of fire, water, lightning, wind and earth..."

Country of Fire

Hidden Village of Konoha (Leaf)

Country of Water

Hidden Village of Mist

Country of Lightning

Hidden Village of cloud

Country of Wind

Hidden Village of Sand

Country of Earth

Hidden Village of Rock

"...occupy a large mass of land and their powers are immense, they are known as the Five Great Ninja Powers," he continued, ending the silence in the forest they walked through.

I took in all of this information, guessing that some countries had hidden villages, but nowhere as strong as the countries of Fire, Water, Lightning, Wind, and Earth.

"Only the leader of each hidden village is allowed to carry the name of 'Kage': Hokage, Mizukage, Raikage, Kazege, and Tsuchikage, otherwise known as the 'Five Kages' are the ninjas that reign over the tens of thousands of ninjas that exist in the countries throughout the world."

Sakura gained a blush of appreciation and a smiled as she said, "Wow, so Hokage-sama must be a great man!"

_Is that old geezer really a great man as he says he is? Sounds fishy... _slyly thought Sakura.

_It must be a lie, yes, a lie, _slyly thought Naruto remembering the time when he used his sexy jutsu and gave the Third a nose bleed.

"Hey, you all just doubted Hokage-sama, didn't you?"

They didn't even bother looking at the teacher and the two shook their heads. "No, no."

Kakashi-sensei started reassuring Sakura that they won't be having any battles during a **C** ranked mission, and Tazuna suddenly tensed. Naruto and Sasuke realized his discomfort, but said nothing. I was too busy trying to shake off the feeling that I was being followed to notice his tenseness.

Kakashi saw my discomfort, rather than Tazuna's.

**Flashback**

**Third person PoV**

Kakashi-sensei entered the Hokage's office with an unusually stern look on his face. The Hokage immediately noted this and finished filing his scrolls.

"I see you have a question for me Kakashi. Would it include one of your students?" guessed the Third.

"Yes, yes it does. I sense something different from Ookami, Yami and Uzumaki, Naruto"

The Hokage slightly shook his head, summarizing up their stories.

"Uzumaki, Naruto is the vessel of the Kyuubi," Kakashi raised a brow, but the third continued, answering his unasked questions. He handed him Naruto's scroll "He was supposed to be viewed as a hero, but was looked as a monster. He's been shunned by kids and parents at a younger age. So he pulled pranks for attention, and yet he looks forward to being the future the fifth Hokage," he said with a smile.

The smile disappeared as he moved on to the next child, handing Kakashi Yami's scroll.

"Ookami, Yami. She is a strange one indeed," he said collecting his thoughts. "She comes from the clan of the wolves… Beautiful creatures they are… but quite different in their ways."

"She was brought in this world to be used as a tool, much like Gaara from Sand, but she rebelled, which caused the clan to quickly abandon her, which is very strange and unlike of the wolf clan. She is more similar Naruto then originally thought, but quite different."

Kakashi raised a brow in confusion, waiting for the Hokage to continue.

"Yami is a strange girl, just like Naruto is a strange boy. Yami is a wolf, while Naruto is a fox, which explains his whiskers and her eyes."

Kakashi thought of it and agreed

_Yami does have yellow wolf-like eyes and Naruto's whiskers are not scars..._

"These are both effects from being vessels. Kakashi... I am leaving these two in your care... They are very oblivious to their future," the Hokage said giving Kakashi two scrolls, one of Naruto, and the other of Yami.

**End of Flashback**

_She feels them too? She probably heard them..._ assumed Kakashi, but he kept on walking without missing a beat.

Team 7 walked for a while, passing a puddle, which Kakashi unnoticeably gazed at.

I switched my vision and saw that the puddle had ... body heat? The hairs on my neck rose and I kept my sense high as I kept on walking.

A man came out of the waters and I strayed into the woods, with no attention being dragged on to me. He threw a spiked chain with another guy flying towards the team with it. The chain surrounded Kakashi and tightened. One man held the beginning of the chain, while the other held the end, holding Kakashi in place. They used some jutsu and squeezed Kakashi into shreds.

Naruto and Sakura gasped in horror and/or shock, while Sasuke just stayed emotionless. Tazuna looked devastated. While there was a puff of smoke coming from Kakashi, I shifted into a wolf and quickly took one of their necks into my mouth and bite on a pressure point, making the ninja pass out quietly.

The other who was completely oblivious to the death of his partner, was about to attack Naruto. He threw his chain at Naruto, who was frozen in fear, and attempted on strangling him with it as the chain scratched Naruto. Sasuke jumped up and interfered by throwing a kunai and shuriken at the chain, pinning it at a near by tree. The chain snapped away from his metal...claw?

He quickly dodged any moves that Sasuke tried and went to attack Tazuna. Sakura was frozen in fear also, but stood in front of Tazuna, protecting him with whatever courage she had left. Before the strange ninja got to Tazuna and Sakura, Kakashi-sensei appeared out of nowhere and put him in a headlock. Apparently, he had used a replacement jutsu.

The man lost consciousness, as Kakashi had his arms around his neck and walked towards the other attacker, picking him up too.

Tazuna let out a big sigh when the ninjas were caught.

_I'm saved._.., he thought relieved.

Kakashi walked up to the teams and congratulated his students

"Anyway, Sasuke, Sakura, good job," he turned around and flashed me a smile, which was a silent praise, but a praise non-other less.

Naruto's eyes widened as he shook with shame.

_I couldn't do anything, but Sasuke was able to in his first real battle... He wasn't afraid at all? Are you saying he helped me with that calm face without soiling his clothes at all? _

I went up to him and gave him a sideways hug. I whispered in his ear, "Don't worry Naruto. You'll do better next time. Practice makes perfect right?"

"There's poison in their nails, we need to take out the poison right away," said Kakashi. Naruto looked at his wound. "We have to open up your wound and leech out the poisoned blood. Don't move that much, or the poison will spread through your body," continued the perverted man.

"By the way Tazuna-san..." added Kakashi. The now sober man quivered with fear.

"W-What is it?" he replied shakily.

"I need to talk to you," Kakashi said looking back at him. Kakashi investigated them and found that they were after Tazuna. He found out that Tazuna had really requested a **B** ranked mission, but made believe that it was a **C** ranked mission. Kakashi just suggested going back to cure Naruto's wounds when Naruto suddenly stab his wound with his kunai.

_Why am I so different? Why am I always...Damn it! I should be stronger... I've accomplished lots of missions and I've practiced my techniques every day... _

_"_I'm never going to do something that will require someone to help me. I'm never going to be frightened and try to back out of things. I'm not going to lose to Sasuke. I vow that to this pain in my left hand. I'm going to protect the old man with this kunai! The mission is still on," proudly stated Naruto, but Kakashi being the party pooper had to add in some of his own words...

"Naruto, it's nice that you took out the poisoned blood so spiritedly... but you're going to die from the loss of blood if any more comes out."

It took Naruto a while to register what he had just been told, but once he got it, all of the blood drained from his face.

"No, but seriously, you will if you don't soon."

I shook my head as he started screaming. Kakashi took his hand and saw the wound healing itself.

_The Kyuubi's power..._

I jumped on Naruto's back, scaring him and slightly lighting up the mood. As he yelled at me for having the worst timing ever, I just laughed.


	7. Chapter 7

Third Person Pov

**Third Person Pov**

Team 7 and their client, Tazuna, the bridge builder, kept on walking to their destination, the Hidden Village of Mist. They walked through the Country of Fire, bringing them to the sea shore. Tazuna had already gotten a boat ride for the ninjas and himself to go to the Country of the Wave. He had surprisingly been well prepared for the journey.

Suspicion rose in everyone.

The old man seemed to be awaiting something a bit more than a **C** ranked mission.

**Yami's Pov**

As we were riding in the boat through the misty water, I noticed the bridge that connected the Country of Water to the Country of Fire was unfinished. Why would Tazuna need someone to escort him to finish building the bridge? Why did he need someone to escort him? _This seems all too fishy for me..._

_The mist is so thick...I can't see what's ahead..._ thought Sakura.

Sasuke was on the side of the boat keeping his senses sharp and looking unemotional as usual. Naruto was sitting at the very front of the boat, waiting to see any signs of the Village of Mist.

The man who was rowing was on Tazuna's left, while Kakashi was on his right. Sakura and Sasuke were in front of them and I was behind Naruto, keeping the boat slightly balanced.

I heard Kakashi-sensei yawn and the man who was rowing, broke the silence by announcing, "We should be able to see the bridge soon. If we move along the side of the bridge, we'll be at the country of Water."

Naruto strained his eyes, trying to see past the mist, but failed to do so. He strained again and was able to see the other end of the unfinished bridge. I saw people of the village working on it in the mist.

"It's huge!" shouted Naruto completely shocked. I wouldn't blame him. No wonder it took so long to be completed. The man, who was rowing, grew a glare on his face and whispered harshly, "Hey, be quiet! We're using this boat and hiding in the mist. That's why I'm rowing instead of using the engine. In other words, if we get caught we'll be in trouble."

Naruto crouched down covering his lips with his hand, getting the idea, and being frightened by the man's sudden whispered outburst.

Kakashi-sensei looked at Tazuna in a suspicious manner.

"Tazuna-san... before the boat gets to the pier, there's something I need to ask you..."

Tazuna didn't bother looking up, as if he almost knew what Kakashi-sensei was about to ask. I looked at Naruto to see if he gets anything that was going, but he only gave me a shrug.

"The identity of the ones who are after you and the reason they are after you," he continued "Or we can call this mission off when you get ashore, Tazuna-san."

**Naruto's Pov**

I looked around, not really getting why Kakashi would call this mission off when we got ashore. I stared at the old geezer closely, seeing if he'd flinch or anything, but all he did was look onto the floor. I gazed to my side and gave Yami a questioning look, but she just shook her head.

He took a while to do anything, but then finally said something, "Looks like I gave to tell you the real story."

_Real story?!_

"I mean, I would like for you to hear my story. As you said, this mission is most likely out of your job description. An extremely terrible man is after my life," he said calmly.

_An extremely terrible man! After his life!!_

"An extremely terrible man?" asked Kakashi._ How terrible was this man?_

"Yes."

"Who is it?" asked Kakashi just as calmly.

_Man, my sensei is cool_...

"You should have all at least heard of the name... Marine Transportation billionaire Gatoh," he said chillingly.

_Gatoh? Who the hell is Gatoh?_

I felt completely lost on this subject.

"Gatoh? The one from the Gatoh Company? He's one of the richest men in this world," our sensei said with eyes wide opened -for once-.

"Who's that?" I **innocently** asked.

"Yes, he is the president of a marine transportation company on the outside... but underground, he uses gangs and ninjas to smuggle drugs and goods," he answer Kakashi, completely ignoring me.

A glare grew on his face and he continued, "He also does nasty jobs like takeovers of other companies and countries. A year ago, he set his sights on the Country of Water. He entered this country using violence and wealth as his shield and he quickly took over the island's sea traffic and transportation. On an Island like the Country of Water, controlling the sea means ruling the island. And the one thing that Gatoh is afraid of the completion of the bridge."

Tazuna looked at the bridge that seemed to be almost everything to him.

"So since you're the bridge builder... you're his target," summarized Sakura.

_She's so pretty and smart, _I thought with a girly sigh.

"So then those ninjas were sent by Gatoh," added Sasuke

_What a show off, _I angrily thought, glaring at him as usual.

"But I don't understand... He's a dangerous man that uses ninjas. So why didn't you ask for ninjas suitable for a **B** or **A** ranked missions?"

Tazuna let out a deep sigh and continued to explain, "The country of the Waves is a poor country. Not even the feudal lords have much money. We don't have the money for **B** rank mission. If you quit your mission after I land, I'll be killed for sure..."

I looked at his face carefully and saw his expression change a bit.

"-but don't worry about it... Only my cute eight year old grandson will cry himself to sleep every night."

_The teme is using the guilt card. _My left eye twitched at the realization.

"And my daughter will just hold a grudge against Konoha ninja and live a lonely life."

I saw Yami's eye twitch and tighten her fist.

"But it's not your fault," said the old geezer.

I saw Kakashi sensei thinking hard about this, while everyone, excluding Sasuke, Yami, and I, **actually** started feeling guilty.

"I guess it can't be helped. We'll keep on escorting you," our sensei responded with a grin…

He said with a grin…

With a grin.

A grin. 

My eye twitched again as I realized that we all fell into the teme's trap.

**  
Yami's Pov**

"That's good to hear," Tazuna said before he looked back and gave a peace sign and thought _I won._

My eye twitched and a vein popped out on my forehead.  
_I SAW THAT!_

The boat owner then announced, "We're almost there."

I looked ahead and saw that we were about 30 feet away from land.

"Tazuna, it looks like we haven't been noticed yet."

"Thanks," replied Tazuna to the man. For once, he had actually looked grateful.

The boat went under a short bridge/tunnel and we all kept on looking towards the light. When the boat came out from under that bridge, we saw clear water and a clear sky.

I got out of the boat and had a good stretch, while Tazuna gave his farewell to the man and thanked him before going home.

"Alright, take me home safely."

Kakashi nodded his head and led the way. As he walked, he thought in a depressing manner,  
_If they are to attack, they'll send the Jounin leveled ninja instead of Chuunin leveled ones… I really hate exercising._

Of course, on the walk there, Naruto and Sasuke had to get into **some** sort of competition.  
This time, the competition was about who was leading the walk. Naruto sped up in front of the group and looked around, and threw his kunai on his right, which kinda scared the living crap out of some people.

He shrugged and said nothing but, "It was nothing but a mouse. My bad."

Sakura got mad and started yelling, "STOP SHOWING OFF! There was nothing there!"

I got mad and started yelling at her, "**You** are the **last** person to be talking about showing off! So shut up!!"

She kinda backed off since she doesn't know me much and didn't know I could talk.

"Please Naruto, don't use your kunai so abusively," Kakashi-sensei tried reasoning.

Tazuna stood in the back, shaking in anger that he freaked over a false alarm.

"Hey you dwarf! Don't scare us!"

"I swear, I saw someone over there," he looked around again.

All of the sudden, the hairs on my neck rose. My senses sharpened dramatically as I thought,  
_someone is following us._

"I told you to stop!" said Sakura, punching Naruto on the head. I didn't do anything since I was so busy trying to figure out where the person is, if there's even a person.

_Someone really strong..._

"But I really _did_ sense someone," he whined. Kakashi-sensei went through the bushes and saw a petrified white rabbit under the kunai that Naruto had thrown on the tree. Sakura and Naruto followed Kakashi as he bent down to pick the rabbit and she scowled him again, "Naruto! Look what you've done!" He looked at the rabbit and ran towards it.

_Murderously strong..._

"Bunny!" He picked it up and started hugging it, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

I kept on looking around getting the wonderful feeling of paranoia

**Kakashi's Pov**

_That's a snow rabbit, but what's with the color of it's fur? They only have white fur during winter when the days are short._

I looked around, sensing something, but not letting anyone realize it.  
_That means it's a rabbit that was raised inside a place where the sun isn't a factor for the replacement technique._

I looked back at Naruto to see that he was still hugging the rabbit, with Sakura, Sasuke, and Tazuna looking at him strangely. I looked at Yami and saw that she was distracted. Her position was one of a defense position. She looked... a bit nervous or frightened.  
_  
She feels someone too. Her senses are developing fast..._

I looked up to the tree and thought, s_o someone decided to appear immediately._

**Yami's Pov**

_You_ felt someone hiding in a tree and without any attention being directed towards them, so I slipped away from the group. I saw him jump and saw Kakashi-sensei react quickly, "Everyone, duck!"

A spinning sword came from the tree, passing right above them. It hit a tree and the owner stood on the handle. His light, lifeless eyes looked back to Kakashi and some recognition sparked in them.

I heard Kakashi say with no worries in his voice, "Oh my, my, you are Zabuza, the exiled ninja of the Hidden Village of Mist."

_Exiled?_

I saw Kakashi raise his forehead protector out of his eye's way.  
"If he's our enemy, I can't win like this."

"I'm guessing you are Kakashi the Sharingan user."

I saw Sasuke flinch, while he stared at Kakashi's eye.

"I'm sorry but... I'll need you to hand over the geezer."

Kakashi glared at Zabuza and told the team to protect Tazuna.  
"Do not join the battle. To not interfere with the battle is teamwork," he said firmly.

Naruto being clueless asked "What the hell is a sharingan?" Sasuke, being from the Uchiha clan, which is where the sharingan originated from, answered his question, not letting his eyes fall from Zabuza.

"Sharingan...The eye creates it and it is the power that the pupil generates. Ones who use **doujutsu** are said to have eye powers that can see through all genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu, and cancel their effects."  
_**(Doujutsu; Eye technique)**_

"Sharingan is one of the various types of eyes that those doujutsu users possess, but that's not the only ability the Sharingan possesses."

Zabuza smirked and continued for Sasuke, "You're right. That isn't it. The scary part is that Sharingan can understand how an opponent's technique works and copy it."

A mist came from nowhere and soon the forest became unclear.

"When I was in the Hidden Village of Mist's assassination squad... your information was listed in the bingo book I carried for your capture. It also noted this... the man who copied more than 1000 techniques, **Kakashi the copy ninja**."

Sakura was in shock from the new information, _was Kakashi really that great?_

Sasuke kept gazing at Kakashi..._I thought the Sharingan was a Uchiha doujutsu and only a __**few**__ got it. Could it be...?_

"Enough with this. I gotta end that geezer's life right away."

Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto stood in front of Tazuna, defending him. He moved at an incredible speed and... stood on the water.

"Mist concealment."

I strained my eyes to see him, but he just disappeared in the mist.

Kakashi stood in front of the team, "He'll try to eliminate me first."

"Who is he?" asked Sakura, shocked at this man's...power.

"Momochi, Zabuza. He was in the Hidden Village of Mist's **ANBU** and was known for his 'silent killing' techniques."  
_**(ANBU Assassination and Tactics Special Squad)**_

"Silent?" hesitated Naruto.

"Just as the name implies, it's a killing technique that's executed in a flash and carried in absolute silence," explained Kakashi. "It's possible that you'll be dead before you realize it. And I cannot use my Sharingan to its fullest potential. So don't let your guard down."

"But if you fail, you're only going to die," he finished chillingly.

"The mist is getting thicker!" cried out Naruto.

I strained my eyes again and soon saw Kakashi-sensei disappearing in the mist.  
I switched my vision into my wolf ones and guarded the team without realizing it.

Circling around them. Watching Zabuza.

"Eight points," a creepy voice said and it belonged to Zabuza. I saw Sakura tense up. 

"The larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular vein, collarbone, kidney, and heart. Now which vital organ do you want to get struck at?" I could hear the seriousness and sadism in his voice and it sent shivers down my spine. I saw Kakashi use a large amount of chakra and dispel most of the mist away.

I could see Sasuke freeze in fear 

_What an intense thirst for blood. I can't handle this! The feeling of death right next to you, your life in someone else's hands, I'd rather kill myself then keep on going through this. Two hours of this and I'll go crazy!_

I saw Sasuke hold his kunai as if he was going to stab himself and shifted back to my human form. I stood in front of him, holding his kunai with a hard grip, and looked him in the eye.

"Sasuke, you can do this. Don't let the pressure get to you."

I let go of his kunai then went back into the mist, seemingly disappearing.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you four with my life. I won't let anyone on my team die," reassured Kakashi, slightly grateful I stopped Sasuke. He gave the team a smile and slightly broke some of the tension.

"I don't know about that," said Zabuza suddenly appearing right in the middle of the team.

I ran towards him swiftly in my wolf form and bit him on the neck, lashing on to him, as Kakashi stabbed him in the gut, but instead of blood falling off, it was water. I jumped back and hid in the mist again. Zabuza was really behind sensei and I knew I couldn't stand a chance against him.

I knew that Kakashi sensed that Zabuza was behind him.  
"Sensei! Behind you!" yelled Naruto.

The water clone melted and the real Zabuza came to slice Kakashi in half. It would have scared me half to death, but I had an enormous amount of trust in my sensei, and shockingly what was thought to be Kakashi, was a water clone.

I smiled a bit, knowing now how keen Kakashi was as he stood behind Zabuza holding a kunai to his throat.  
"Don't move. This is the end."

All of the sudden, Zabuza did the last thing expected. He laughed then said, "Is this the end?" Kakashi hardened his gaze.

"You don't understand. You can't defeat me with just your imitations or your surprise attacks. I can assure you that, but you're pretty good... both of you, even though that girl is nothing but a Genin."

My body froze. I had made myself a target for him, but I wasn't going to let him hurt Naruto. My best friend... My only friend.

"I see that you've copied my water clone technique. Smart, how you made your clone talk so I wouldn't realize that it wasn't the real one, while you used the mist concealment technique to hide and observe my movements... However..." Another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi.

"I am not easy to defeat."

The clone Kakashi had suddenly dropped into a puddle.

"That one's a fake too!" yelled Naruto completely bewildered.

Zabuza swung the sword at Kakashi-sensei, but he duck right on time. I came in running, jumping over the swing, aiming for his neck, but he ducked also, making me miss him and slide behind him. He stuck his sword onto the floor and used his sword handle for support as he kicked Kakashi hard. Kakashi landed in the water. He swum up and wondered, _What's with this water? It's heavy for some reason._

Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi. "You fool," he stated. He did several hand seals and imprisoned Kakashi in a chamber of water. 

Zabuza chuckled, "You fell for it. This is a special prison that you can't escape from. You give me a hard time when you're moving," he said, glaring at Kakashi. "Now then Kakashi..." he continued,"I'm going to finish you off later."

He looked at my team and used the mist concealment technique again. He was about to kick Naruto but then I jumped in front of him, taking most of the blow for Naruto. Zabuza looked at our sliding forms murderously. I slid and rolled on the grass for about 30 feet, while Naruto slid for 15 feet.

"You're not ninjas, you're just kids."

"Naruto! Yami!" yelled Sakura in concern.

"Everyone! Get Tazuna-san and run! You can't win against him! He can't move as long as he has me trapped in this hydro-prison. He also won't be able to use his water clone once you get away from him! Run for now!" yelled Kakashi.

_Run? You gotta be kidding me_, thought Sasuke getting into an attack position. His fear of death had completely flown out of the window. _When you got caught, that was no longer an option._

I saw Sasuke running towards Zabuza and I struggled to get up and shifted into a wolf again.  
Giving up in a fight was not an option for a wolf. Never.

Sasuke ran full speed and threw his shurikens at Zabuza, jumped up and was about to attack Zabuza from above, but Zabuza reached up and nearly grabbed Sasuke by his neck to choke the brunet, but I pounced on Sasuke making Zabuza choke me instead.

I had no idea why I didn't stay in my spot, but my inner wolf... was a born fighter and would never allow someone in the pack get hurt.

As much as Sasuke was a pain, he was still in my pack. Everyone on team 7 was.

Zabuza brought me close to his face and whispered in my ear, "You're pretty tough, but still not good enough."

He threw me hard on the floor where I slid onto the glass and hit a tree.  
"Yami!" yelled Naruto, who was frozen in shock.

Sasuke, who was from a distance, got up and looked at me in shock and anger.  
_You idiot! Why did you do that?!_

**Naruto's Pov**

"Yami!" I yelled as I looked at her motionless form. Zabuza stood right in front of us about to attack. I started trembling with fear.  
_This is a jounin... A real ninja. I have to run. At this rate...she'll... we'll get killed for sure!_

I turned around, putting pressure on my wounded hand...then it all came back to me as I stared at my slightly bleeding hand on the grass...

_**Flashback #1**_

_Why am I so different…? Why am I always...Damn it! _ _I should be stronger... I've accomplished lots of missions and I've practiced techniques every day... _

_"_I'm never going to do something that will require someone to help me. I'm never going to be frightened and try to back out of things. I'm not going to lose to Sasuke. I vow that to this pain in my left hand. I'm going to protect the old man with this kunai! The mission is still on"

_**Flashback#2**_

"You always lecture like me that, pops, but I'm not the kid who used to pull pranks anymore!" I huffed in anger.

The Hokage and Iruka loosened up and smiled a bit at the boy's speech.

_**End**_ _**of Flashbacks**_

I looked at my forehead protector that Zabuza was stepping on, since it flew off my head and remembered...

_**Flashback #3**_

Iruka and I were having some ramen, since he was trying to cheer me up. I hadn't passed the exams and didn't become a ninja.

I had taken off my goggles and asked Iruka-sensei, "Sensei, can I put on that Konoha forehead protector?"

"Oh, this?" he held on to it with pride. "No. This is proof that you graduated school and that you're a real ninja," he gave you a grin.

_**Later on…**_

Iruka sensei was sitting by a tree, looking beat up and tired.

"Naruto, come here for a second. I want to give you something."

I went over to him and he gave me his... forehead protector? My eyes widened in shock  
"Congratulations. You graduated…"

_**Flashback #4**_

"Why do you think they put a **team** of four rather than just working individually!?" he half shouted and explained.

"Teamwork. That's the most important thing in a team," he glared at us all in left.

_**Flashback #5**_

"You all passed!" he grinned

_**Flashback #6**_

"But I'm not the kid who used to pull pranks anymore!" I shouted

_**Flashback #7**_

"Hey don't underestimate me, old geezer! I'm going to be the next Hokage. The name is Uzumaki, Naruto! Remember it!"

_**End of flashbacks**_

_That's right... I became a ninja. And I'm not giving up! I will protect Yami! _I thought with a newly sparked determination.

I stood up, slightly swinging to my sides, and ran towards Zabuza.

"Idiot! Stop!" yelled Kakashi.

"Naruto! What are you doing?!" screamed Sakura in panic.

I ignored them and kept on running towards him.

I saw Zabuza glare at me, and heard him whisper "**baka**" before kicking me to the floor.  
_**(Baka: Idiot)**_

I rolled onto the grassy floor and struggled to get back up.

"What are you thinking, charging in like that on your own?! Even Sasuke-kun is no match against him. Genins like ourselves have no way of defeating him no matter what we try," screamed Sakura completely hopeless.

A slap was soon heard after her outburst.

I strained and looked behind me to see that Yami had slapped Sakura. She was glaring at Sakura angrily while Sakura just looked at her, too shocked to do anything.

"Stop comparing Naruto to Sasuke, and **never** give up in **this **team," she growled through her teeth.

That alone gave me a whole new determination and a rush of confidence. She believed in me.  
I struggled to get up with my forehead protector that I had grabbed from Zabuza before he had kicked me.

**Yami's Pov**

Everyone but Zabuza and I looked at Naruto with a sense of amazement. I didn't expect anything less from him. I hated how people thought so little of him.

He struggled to get up, but eventually did.

"Never underestimate me, you teme. I'm the Konoha ninja, future Hokage, Uzumaki, Naruto."  
He looked back to Sasuke and said something that shocked Sakura, "I have a plan."

"Hn. I can't believe you want to work as a team," said Sasuke with a slight smirk.

I noticed how Sakura blushed as she thought, _what... What is this feeling? Was Naruto this...?_

I couldn't help but glare at her, but feel a little content that she was now realizing how strong Naruto really was.

"Let's give it our all," confidently said Naruto after going through his plan with his rival.

Zabuza gave a sinister chuckle and said to himself, "You seem pretty confident. Let's see how confident you are when I beat your friend senseless."

"What are you doing?! Run! The outcome of this battle was decided when I got caught!" yelled Kakashi. "Our mission is to protect Tazuna-san."

"I don't mind. Fight all you want," said Tazuna, not being selfish at all, but wanting the sensei to be safe.

"When I was your age, my hands were already soaked in blood," he smirked evilly. "Seems like your friend can relate," he cruelly laughed.

My heart started beating louder and louder and louder. It was getting hard to breathe. Why was it getting harder to breathe? I gasped for a breath as a quick blurry thought came in my mind.

--

"She doesn't have to remember anything. It'll be as if she was pure," a manly voice said.

Silence was heard in the darkness. Nothing was clear and I was in pain.

"She **is** pure. It's your fault that she ever became like..._this,_" said a motherly voice.

--

Kakashi looked at him, not ignoring his comment, _the demon Zabuza._

"You know what? She almost looks familiar," he grinned under his mask, but then continued. "Seems you know of me Copy ninja," he said, changing the topic.

"A long time ago, the Hidden Village of the Mist was known as the Village of the Bloody Mist. In that village, there was an obstacle that existed to become a ninja."

Kakashi said ignoring Zabuza's comment. Zabuza looked at Kakashi sternly, "So you know about the final test there."

"Final test? What's the final test?" asked Naruto

The cruel ninja chuckled, "Students killing each other. Friends who ate from the same bowl are separated into groups of two, and forced to fight each other. Killing your best friend…" the tension rose as he mentioned death.

Kakashi continued for the man, fully knowing the story. "Ten years ago, the Hidden Village of Mist had to go through a reformation...because in the previous year, a monster appeared that finally decided it."

"A monster... A reformation...? What did that monster do?" asked Naruto still lost.

"A small boy who hadn't even gained the right to become a ninja killed more than 100 of the candidates that year, and killed them all without hesitation," finished Kakashi, who never took his gaze away from Zabuza.

Zabuza looked up, his eyes almost rolling in the back of his head in pleasure. "That was fun," he groaned.

A soft maniacal laugh could be heard through the mist.

A water clone came at Sasuke at full speed knocking him off the floor, then elbowing him hard, making Sasuke spit out blood. He then came up at me at full speed, not giving me the time to blink, and pushed me hard against a tree breaking one of my ribs. He kept on applying pressure in it, making me bite my lip hard, so hard that blood was flowing down my chin.

I looked ahead to Naruto, dazing in and out, seeing different colored dots everywhere, then felt something warm going down my neck.

"Die," his clone whispered.

"No! Shadow replication jutsu!" Naruto yelled.

I wished I had seen more, but I passed out when he put more pressure on me.

I woke up to the sounds of...seagulls... It was quite relaxing, but my body was so sore, it almost hurt to breathe.  
I looked up at the wooden ceiling, wondering where I was, and tried not to panic at the possible scenarios that could have happened.

_Maybe I'm kidnapped? No… why would they bandage up a kidnappee…_

I tried sitting up, but the pain in my body intensified so much that it paralyzed me.

"You shouldn't move," a man said.

I was startled by the deep voice and looked to my right to see my sensei, lying on a bed next to mine, with his hands behind head. I looked at him with tired eyes and asked, "What happened?"

"Five of your ribs broke, but luckily none of them punctured your lungs," he answered.

All of the sudden, a headache came and made me grip my head.

"Your head was bleeding a bit also," continued the sensei. "Just be thankful that none of your wounds are too deadly."

I let out a sigh and asked once more, "What happened after I passed out?"

"Naruto and Sasuke actually decided to work together, and managed to trick Zabuza, defeating him," he answered, still not sure of how they beat an assassin.

"Wow," I said amazed. "Where's the body?" I asked the sensei, who finally decided to open his eyes.

"Apparently, a hunter-nin came by and took him," he said with a disbelieving tone.

I heard a door slide open and tensed a bit. "Yami!" I heard a familiar voice say. "You're awake!" I looked at the grinning boy.

_Apparently,_ I thought as I pondered over my sensei's words.

"That's great," smiled what looked like Tazuna-san's daughter. I didn't know how I knew it, but she had his scent.

I lay on my back, which was next to your sensei, for a second and felt his uneasiness.

"What's wrong sensei?"

He slightly jumped, being startled, then asked, "It...feel as if he didn't die..."

"What are you talking about, Sensei? That hunter-nin took Zabuza away," said Naruto with that **kawaii** puzzled look of his...

_Did I just use... Ka..wa..ii...,_I thought with my eyes a little wide._  
__**(Kawaii: cute)**_

"It's just that... hunter-nins are supposed to eliminate the corpse on the spot," he said, thinking back to the situation.

"But he didn't..." added Sasuke, catching on.

"And the needles he used on Zabuza are questionable too," continued Kakashi.

"Could it be that..." Sakura thought out loud, joining in the conversation.

"What are you guys talking about?" questioned Tazuna feeling lost.

"Zabuza is still alive," I answered with a monotone.

"WHAT!? But sensei, I thought you checked for his pulse!?"

"I did...but it's very easy to put someone in a near death state..." he sighed. "So, more training."

"More training!? Come on, sensei. Even you had a hard time with him. Are you trying to kill us!?" shouted out Sakura. Wow. Sakura shouted like Naruto.

"Training doesn't stop for you four... well three. You all are growing rapidly. Especially you Naruto," smiled Kakashi-sensei.

"Awesome! Now things are getting interesting," said Naruto with a grin.

"You're all going to die anyways... you can't defeat Gatoh," said a little boy, who seemed to be Tazuna's grandson. The one he bribed us with.

I stared at him with no emotion in my eyes. When the little boy went to hug his grandpa, he looked at me, and it was easy to sense that he had no faith in us at all, which just pissed Naruto off. He, who was named Inari, left to go somewhere else, leaving us all to gaze after him.

--

Naruto and I walked up the stairs, just randomly talking.

"Man, that kid with the hat has no faith at all. Freaking brat, I didn't practice all day just to hear him put us down like that **again**," he mumbled, letting his anger get the best of him

I laughed at his grumbling, and rubbed the back of my neck.

"Chill, Naruto. He probably doesn't like ninjas or something. Can't be anything personal… I mean, he doesn't even know us," I tried reasoning.

"I guess you're right... hey! What's wrong with ninj-" he started but stopped mid-sentence when we heard crying. I shifted into my wolf form, and walked towards the sound with Naruto right behind you. Naruto opened up a door, and we saw Inari crying while holding a picture. I heard him whimper "dad". Behind me, Naruto didn't even bother moving, but stood still while gazing at the boy with a bit more sympathy… 

I walked towards the boy carefully and nudged his lap. He jumped, startled and he stopped crying for a moment, and looked at me with sad eyes and hugged me.

I had expected him to yell at me for being there, but I guess since he was so sad, he was just looking for comfort.

It really startled me still, but I stayed by his side until he cried himself to sleep. But before he could drift off into a dream land, I heard him mumble, "I miss him so much..."

--

When it was dinner time, everyone sat down at the table.

"Hey, did anyone see that dog?"

I looked down onto my plate, and said nothing. I looked to my side, and looked at Naruto.

"Do you know anything about a dog?"

He gave me a shrug.

"I sure don't," he played along with me.

Sasuke glared suspiciously at Inari and asked, "Are you sure you weren't seeing things kid?"

Inari said nothing, but glared at him, looking a bit insulted and angry. He looked down onto his plate, and said nothing again, with the feeling of depression radiating off of him.  
Sakura looked at Tazuna in worry and asked, "Is Inari alright? He's so sad for a little kid..."

Tazuna explained to team seven why Inari was as sad as he was now. He had mentioned a man, but before he could continue, Inari stormed out of the room with his mom following close behind him, but before she left, she scolded Tazuna-san for speaking of the man in front of Inari.

Tazuna sighed sadly, and a tear slid down his cheek when he continued.

"Inari had a father figure, who had saved him from drowning, when three boys pushed him onto the ocean. The man's name was Kaiza, he and Inari had grown close, like father and son. Eventually, he was part of the family. He was looked at as a hero in the village. He would sacrifice his life for the safety of the town."

_Protect what you love with your life_

"But Gatoh captured him for he saw Kaiza as a threat and tortured him. One day, he brought the village to a meeting of some sort, and executed him in front of the village. Inari cried and cried as he saw his dad get killed in front of him. Inari was never the same ever since. He had stopped believing in heroes ever since his hero died."

Naruto suddenly shot up, surprising everyone.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" asked Sakura.

"If you're thinking about training, you used too much chakra. You'll kill yourself if you use anymore," reasoned Kakashi.

He took a struggled deep breath and said, "I'm going to prove... to Inari that there are still heroes out there."

I gave him smile, admiring his determination and will power.

"Show off," scoffed Sakura, and once again, she felt my cold glare.

--

Naruto had decided to go training by himself in the woods. I insisted on coming, but he refused and told me to rest and get better. Since we were by the beach, I was going to relax a bit. I stretched a bit, enjoying the quiet and relaxing times of the mission.

"Hey sensei, I'm going to go for a run, alright?"

He looked up from his book with a grin and said, "Alright, but don't overdo it. You're still recovering after all."

"Sure," I said with a sarcastic tone. He rolled his eyes at me, knowing that I wasn't going to listen, but still let me go.

I walked towards the beach, inhaling the salty, fresh air. I looked around, not seeing or sensing anyone around, so I shifted into my wolf form, and felt my paws getting buried into the cold sand.

A shiver crawled down my spine as a soft breeze brushed against my fluffy fur. I felt an adrenaline rush sparked into my body, and had the greatest rush to run until I was breathless.

I started walking, looking up at the night sky, and slowly started speeding up until I was running as fast as I could without using any chakra. I felt my paws hitting the wet sand, slightly scratching them, and the lack of air in my lungs, making them burn. Yet, they didn't burn painfully, but it was the kind of burn that made me want more until I couldn't handle it at all.

After a while, I started using my chakra to run faster, since without it, it took me two hours to run halfway around the island. Even though my ribs were healing, I had to be free, even if it was for just a moment.

--

I collapsed in front of Tazuna's house, completely out of breath and shocked that I didn't do any further damage to my ribs. I laid there for a couple minutes, slowly catching my breath, but after a while, I just stayed sprawled on the sandy floor, listening to the ocean waves. I stayed there completely relaxed on the sand, until I heard someone walking towards my direction. I made an effort to open my eyes to see Sakura looking down at me.

I did nothing but closed my eyes again and heard her sit down next to me, which I found very un-expecting, but still didn't do anything else.

Nothing but the waves crashing with the sand could be heard, until I heard her say something even more un-expecting.

"You like Naruto, don't you?"

That question made my heart jump and my eyes open in shock, but the calmness in her voice eased me a bit.

"What brought that up...?" I dully asked her back.

"You do, don't you?" she said, feeling the excitement of knowing something secretive. I glared at the sky and got up, leaving her in silence.

**Kakashi's Pov**

It had been three hours since Yami had left. I couldn't help but be worried about her. I wanted to take care of her like a daughter, just as Iruka took care of Naruto like a son.

I sighed as I couldn't get back to my novel. _I'm getting way too worried about this kid, _I thought, getting irritate at my concern. I heard the door open and looked up to see Yami.

"Hello, Yami," I said as I raised my eyebrow in wonder. She had a frown and a frustrated glare on her face. She sat on the bed next to mine in silence. It was a wonder why we were sharing rooms, but then I remembered that we were paired off because we were the 'injured' ones, so it'd be easier to check up on us. I looked at her as she brought her knees up, hugging them, and put her head down. I looked at her worriedly, and put my book away.

"Are you ok Yami?" I asked. Afterwards, I saw her look up at me with glossy-looking eyes, and turned her head away from me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, genuinely concerned.

"I'm just...so confused," she managed to get out.

"About what," I egged on. It sounded more of an order then a question.

She got up, not looking in my direction, and left the room without a word. I sighed sadly, not understanding the situation at all. I heard a knock at the door, and saw Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, do you need anything?" I asked, trying to brush off my confusion.

"What's wrong with Yami?" she asked, not sounding obsessed about Sasuke for once.

I ran my hand through my hair, and told her, "I really don't know." She looked at me, thinking about something and assumed, "You should go after her." I raised an eyebrow and pointed at myself to make sure.

"**Me?**" I said emphasizing the word.

"Well, you are her sensei, and Naruto isn't here anyways. She'll never listen to me," she said nothing after that and walked away, giving me a shrug.

_Women, _I thought as I swore to never try understanding them again.

I used my speed to appear above the roof in less than a second, and looked around the house and onto the beach to try to find her. I looked down near the ocean water, and saw Yami walking away from the house. She kept on walking and then sat on the sandy floor, gazing at the water.

I hopped off the roof then walked towards her and awkwardly sat by her in silence. Never have I ever felt so out of place.

We both sat next to each other, waiting for something to happen, but when I was getting used to the silence, I heard her ask, "What's love?"

The question wasn't something anyone would expect her to ask.

"Why do you ask?" I countered.

She paused then finally uneasily answered, "I don't know..."

**Yami's Pov**

The awkward silence was painful after a while. I didn't even know why I told my sensei anything **anyways**.

When I decided it was time to get up, Kakashi broke the awkward silence by answering my question.

"Love is an emotion you feel for someone when you care for them greatly, but there are different levels of love... and only you can figure which level it is..." He paused. "The different levels are something like...when you like someone... it's a lower level of love... when you're in love...it's the highest level of love." He sighed and petted my head. "It's a confusing thing that you'll eventually get, but right now... you are way too young to understand it."

We sat in silence and watched the waves move into their unique dance, bringing serenity to the mind.

"What brought that up anyways?" Kakashi pondered.

I looked at the waves dancing back and forth. Eventually answering, "Curiosity."

"Curiosity killed the cat," he countered with a laugh.

"I'm a wolf, not a cat," I corrected him.

He laughed at the smart remark and sat up. "Well then, we have to go back in. Who knows? Naruto might be back," he said with a yawn.

He smiled under his mask, walking away. I stood up and looked at the horizon. Kakashi stopped, and told me, "If you ever need to talk, I'll always listen." He gave me one last smile and thought to himself, _you're like the daughter I'll never have..._


	8. Chapter 8

I stayed in my room, enjoying the dazed feeling of just waking up that I was indulged in. Even though Kakashi had used too much chakra to even take a normal stroll, he insisted on walking around the town witfh his team. They had left me behind to rest and heal. Naruto hadn't come home yesterday. I didn't worry much about it though, but the fact that it was near noon and there was no sign of him made me worry.

I stood up, letting the blanket slide off of me and sneaked out through the window.

Tazuna's daughter walked through the hall carrying a tray with tea cups. She slid open the door in which the recovering ninjas currently slept in to offer me some tea.

"Would you like some-" she paused, noticing that the room was empty. She let out an exasperated sigh. "Ninjas these days" she continued "First Kakashi, now Yami."

She exited the room, while closing the door. She put down the tray onto a table, a grabbed a cup of tea. She left her house and sat down on the sandy beach and quietly sipped on her tea.

"Hope nothing bad happens today... It's such a nice weather."

__________________________________

I walked into the forest, avoiding rocks and bugs.

"Naruto!" I shouted out, for what seemed to be the twelfth time.

_Maybe..._ I titled my chin upwards and sniffed.

_How does Naruto smell like..._

I cleared my mind and walked on instinct. An abnormal smell, which stood out from the forest, kept on getting stronger. I neared an old, tall tree to smell a scent of ramen near it. I looked up at the ancient plant to see kunai and shuriken marks on its trunk.

Out of random, the tune of nature was interrupted by a random snore. I raised my eyebrow in curiosity and wondered, then looked up to see birds fleeing in surprise and slight fear. A clumsy bird knocked over a nest, which tipped off of a branch.

My heart stopped in fear, but I still jumped up onto branches, reaching for the nest in time to safely put it back in place. I looked down from where I was and concluded that I was about 25 feet above the ground.

I crouched down with my hands in front of my feet and searched around the perimeter. On this personal mission, my inner wolf wouldn't let me let my guard down. I used my newly found ability, and sniffed the air for anything out of the usual.

I had become quite familiar with the scent of trees, plants, and animals, so if something smelled out of the usual, it could be quite useful.

I caught the scent of ramen once more, and looked down to see Naruto sprawled down onto the floor. He grumbled quietly, opening his eyes to look at the sky.

I remained hidden in the trees and gazed down at him. One thing I admired about Naruto was his eyes. They always shined so brightly and innocently in their own unique way. But as bright and innocent as they seemed, they could always pierce right through you.

As he was looking at the sky, he looked right into my eyes when he turned his head. I was about to move away, but felt paralyzed by his eyes. My heart stopped beating and my breath was stuck in my throat as he continued to look, but then closed his eyes again as if in pain.

As soon as his eyes were out of my site, my body jerked itself away from his view, but I still kept him in mine, hoping that he wasn't in _too_ much pain.

I saw a figure picking herbs near him. It seemed like a woman, but I could just tell that it was a man. He wore a green kimono, and wore his raven hair down. His facial features were calm and gentle, just as a woman's.

He stood by Naruto, looking at him in deep wonder, but when Naruto opened his eyes and sat up, he looked worried.

"Are you alright?" he asked crouching down by him. "What are you doing out here by yourself?"

Naruto rubbed his head then looked up at him. Suddenly, he gained a blush and quickly looked down. "I was just training, and I think I over did it..." he said quickly.

"Why were you training so hard?" he asked slightly tilting his head to the side. It was hard to imagine that he was a guy... or so I thought…

"I have to train hard to get respect from everyone, so I can be the next Hokage," he said with determination. A small smile came up his face, but his aura still held a bit of sadness.

I slowly got down from the branches, making sure that I wasn't creating any noise. I looked around myself to check if anyone could see me, then shifted into a wolf. I wagged my tail and stuck out my tongue to make myself look more like a dog, and ran towards Naruto barking. I pounced him and started licking his cheek until he pushed me off laughing.

"Yami! What are you doing here?!" he yelled in happiness, but still in pain from using too much chakra.

I sat down in front of Naruto, still wagging my tail then turned my attention to the stranger. I neared him and started sniffing him, while swinging my tail back and forth.

"Yami, you say? That's an unusual name for a dog," he said while petting me.

His aura... his personality... his kindness and gentleness... he couldn't be an enemy. He couldn't hurt anyone...

But the way he smelled, my instincts just told me to stay away from him. He smelled so familiar...

He crouched down, still holding his basket filled with herbs, and petted me.

"I knew someone with eyes like yours..." he muttered to himself. He stood up and said, "Well, I have to go now, bye Naruto. It was nice meeting you." He gave him a wave and took a few steps forwards, but paused.

"By the way Naruto, I'm not a girl" he said with a smirk then continued on walking away.

"What?!?" the blond shouted completely shocked watching him walk off.

"Wait a minute! What's your name!?"

"It's...Haku" By now, the raven haired boy was completely out of sight.

_**My god Naruto, calm down.**_

All of the sudden, Naruto just stopped moving. He slowly turned towards me with eyes wide open and let his mouth drop.

"Did you just...talk in your...wolf..form..?"

I titled my head to side as if he was crazy, but then he shot up and started pointing at me wildly.

"I swear you just did! Do it again"

_**Again?**_

"Holy crap! Try it again!"

Then I actually tried. I thought and thought for what seemed to be far too long, but failed at my every attempt.

_I can do this. Think Yami. Think! Can you hear me now Naruto? HEAR ME!_

Naruto just kept on staring at me expectedly. His shoulders slouched and he said with a disappointed tone. "Aww. I guess you can't do it again... Well. We'll just have to try harder!"

_I guess we'll have to._

I once again studied my environment, making sure no one was there to witness as I turned back to my original form. I stretched my arms, putting them behind my head, then looked up at the sky.

"I guess we should be heading back," I mumbled.

"What's wrong with you?" Naruto asked confused at my change of mood.

"Something isn't right..." I said, walking back to Tazuna's home. Naruto quickly followed behind me and stumbled a little bit. I quickly got to his side, slinging his arm around my shoulder and helped him stand up.

"You really shouldn't push yourself too hard now, Naruto."

"I know, but I have to get stronger..." he mumbled under his breath.

_I know Naruto. I know..._

"Let's go home so you can rest alright?"

_______________________________________

___________________________Kakashi's POV___________________________

I walked in the village with Sakura, Sasuke, and Tazuna. Tazuna was giving me a tour of his village and showed us how bad the poverty really was. A couple of beggars came up to me and luckily Sakura had some candy to spare to the children. They had taken it greedily, but thankfully at the same time.

"This is why we need to complete the bridge," he said with a sense of determination. "Without this bridge, we won't be able to trade and make any profit," he continued. "The poverty will increase again, and that's the last thing we need."

I said nothing to his comment, but suggested that we should go back to his place. Everyone agreed, due to the fact team 7 was tired from their training today.

"Tomorrow, you'll continue to build the bridge right?" I inquired. He nodded his head while placing his hands in his pockets.

"Yes, I'm going to continue building this bridge even if it costs me my life."

I nodded my head, signaling that I heard him, and went back to reading my book.

_For once, he doesn't look selfish and sour._

Around 10 minutes, Tazuna's home was in view and the ocean's wave was in a hearing distance. I slightly smiled under my mask, smelling some good home cooking.

"Wow, something smells really good" Sakura said smiling.

"Yeah, my daughter's cooking is really great. I think she's making ramen tonight" Tazuna said with a sense of pride.

Then suddenly, a deep growl was heard. I looked back to my team to see Sasuke looking away from me with his eye twitching and Sakura looking embarrassed.

I gave a little smile and chuckled.

"I guess someone is hungry"

We finally reached the front door with Tazuna entering first. I saw his daughter cooking some ramen, just as Tazuna predicted, and Yami scowling at Naruto.

"Naruto, you baka, you had me worried sick about you!" she smacked his head, making him grip it in pain.

"I said I was sorry!" *SMACK* "Kya!!!!"

I saw her eye twitch in anger, then look up at me with a smile -as if she never hit him- and greeted me.

"Hello Kakashi-sensei. How was training?"

"It was good..." I answered as a sweat drop appeared in the back of my head.

_Never do I want to see her angry. She's just as bad as Sakura, but more unpredictable!_

Tazuna sat down at the head of the table, with Inari to his right, and his daughter to his left.

Naruto and Sasuke sat across each other being competitive as usual, as I sat at the end of the table with Sakura to my left and Yami to my right.

_Will Naruto and Sasuke ever stop?_

Tazuna's daughter served everyone a bowl of ramen, with the exception of myself. I had told her that I'd rather ate in my room then at the table.

Yami and Sakura sat back and watched in disgust as Sasuke and Naruto had an eating competition. I looked at them a bit frightened by their competitiveness.

_Boys will be boys_...

I saw Yami bowing her head to Tazuna, embarrassed at the boys' behavior, and repeatedly apologizing for them.

Eventually, as anyone guessed, they started chocking on noodles, and puking in buckets Tazuna slid next to them.

Sweatdrops appeared behind my head again as Sakura started scowling at them. Silence spread throughout the room when Inari angrily stood up.

"You want these stupid ninjas to save you grandpa? They can't do it! There's no such things as heroes," the young child shouted.

I saw a glare grow on Naruto's face as he yelled at the child.

"There are such things as heroes, so stop being such a brat all the time! I'm gonna prove to you that heroes exist!"

Tears framed Inari's eyes as he stormed out of the room. Naruto was left fuming with Sakura holding him back.

"Let him go," Yami and I said in unison.

Sakura looked at us, bewildered at the fact that we both said the same thing. She automatically let go of the blond's arm, as he stormed over to Inari. I saw Yami slowly stand up with an angered aura surrounding her.

"You should teach Inari to watch his words," she said with no emotion. She gracefully went back to her room, with her anger rising tension in the room, then disappeared from everyone's view.

I sighed knowing what was bothering the two, and began to apologize to Tazuna.

"I apologize for Naruto and Yami's reaction, Tazuna."

"It's alright... Naruto and Yami seemed very angry... Was it the right thing to let Naruto go?" Tazuna said worriedly gazing at the door Inari stormed out of.

"Inari needs someone to relate to, and Naruto is that someone.""What do you mean Kakashi?" pondered Tazuna's daughter.

"Those two don't even have parents and yet, they still look forward. Inari needs that. To look forward, I mean."

At that moment, I couldn't help but feel proud of Naruto and Yami to have strength like that.

Sakura looked at the hall Yami went into and thought

_I didn't know she was an orphan too..._

Sasuke continued to glare at Naruto's seat, still feeling a bit competitive, not moved at all by Kakashi's little speech.

_______________________Naruto's Pov_________________________

"Stop acting like such a brat!" I shouted, storming after him.

He swiftly turned around, tears falling from his eyes, screaming.

"You don't even know how it feels to lose a hero!"

I stood still. Not moving. Forgetting to breathe. I just stared.

Inari turned around, and sat down on the edge of the porch, looking at the beach with his knees brought up to his chest. His tears never slowed, and slightly shined under the moonlight.

I sat by next to him and stared at the beach along with him in silence.

"You know... you're right. I don't even know how it feels to lose a hero"

He didn't react, just as expected.

"To tell you the truth, I don't even know how it feels to **have** a hero," I muttered. Inari's tears stopped, and he looked at me with an indescribable emotion.

I leaned backwards on my hands, gazing upwards at the moon.

"You're lucky to have had a moment with him. You know,a dad," I sighed. "I wish had parents. Life would be so much simpler if I did... but I still have to be the next Hokage, no matter how hard or sad life seems to be." I turned my attention from the moon, back to the ocean.

"I'm sure your father was a great man. He did all that he could and still loved you the same. He's a hero in life and death," I stopped when I heard sobbing.

I looked at Inari and saw him holding in his cries and biting his bottom lip.

"Are you-are you crying?" I asked a bit taken back.

He quickly looked away from me, wiping his cheeks, then saying, "Of course I not! Men don't cry."

Tears formed in my eyes.

"It's alright to cry of happiness"

I bit my lip, holding back my own tears.

___________________________Yami's Pov_________________________

I sneaked out of my window, and walked towards the forest Naruto trained in. The forest had a whole new attitude at night. Everything was mysterious, dangerous, and peaceful at the same time. I stood in front of the ancient tree where I met the stranger, Haku.

He seemed so familiar.

I focused my chakra onto my feet and climbed the tree to its highest branch. I sat down on the branch, letting myself think clearly for once.

Who was this Haku? His aura seemed so familiar and dangerous, how come? My inner wolf warned me in every way to stay away from the gentle looking boy. Was he dangerous indeed?

"Hello, what are you doing up here?" I heard a voice behind me. I quickly turned back, reaching for a kunai when I saw Haku. _How did he get up here?_ My hands twitched to grasp the weapon, but my mind was too curious to fight. So I tilted my head to the side, and gave off a smile.

"I'm here to think. Who are you?"

He gladly returned my smile with an innocent one of his own. "My name is Haku, pleasure to meet you." He stuck out his hand to shake hands, and when we did, a spark went right through me.

"So what are you doing up here, Yami?"

"Noth-" my senses raised at an alarming rate.

_How does he know my name_

I grasped my kunai, quickly pinning the metallic weapon to his throat.

"How do you know my name," I said seriously, glaring at him. He stayed motionless and still held a boyish smile on his face. My anger rose, causing me to add pressure on the kunai, making it slightly pierce the skin on his neck. Few droplets of blood started to drip, but it didn't affect me.

He slightly winced from the pressure, but then deeply frowned at me. I looked into his eyes, still wearing my glare and saw emotions in his eyes. I saw hurt and sadness in them.

"You really don't remember me?" his voice sounded more hurt than ever. My frustration multiplied and a growl came from my throat. His face stayed emotionless, but his eyes showed nothing but sadness.

"Who are you," I growled.

He used his agility and released himself from my grip, appearing behind me. His lips were by my ear, making the hairs on my neck dance like crazy.

"Your memory... It reminds me of a book" he whispered.

I turned around with my kunai in my hand, ready to attack him, but I didn't see him again.

"Someone ripped out the first few pages, and re-wrote them," I heard underneath me. I looked down to see him using his chakra to hang under the very branch I was standing on.

"The pages flew with the wind, and now you have to find them," his voice echoed in the darkness.

He appeared once again behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, giving me a final hug. "I'm sorry..."

_______________________________FlashBack__________________________

"I'm a tool" the voice echoed in the hut. I stayed there, on the floor, clutching my blanket for warmth. "I'm used to serve. Nothing more." The sterness in the voice made me freeze.

"I wish it were more though..." the person whispered.

___________________________End________________________

He ran away quickly using his speed, not giving me the chance to react or run after him. I used my heat vision, and saw that he was nowhere in the forest anymore. My breath was stuck in my throat.

My heart started pounding hard and loud, as a headache overcame me.

My breathing became loud and strained as I gripped my head for some sort of relief. The over bearing pain made me fall on my knees, screaming for mercy. My sight became filled with dots, and I eventually passed out.

____________________________Kakashi's Pov_________________________

I went to check to see if Yami was alright since she had stayed in the room for a while. I slowly opened the door to check if she was sleeping, completely forgetting to knock, to see that she wasn't there. Her bed wasn't messy, meaning that she didn't even stay in the room for long at all.

My gaze immediately went to the window, to see the small curtains flowing.

I thought of the possibilities of what could happen to her, but decided to go find her in the morning if she didn't come back then. Who knows? She could have gone training to let out her frustration. I put my book aside, and sat on my bed, looking at hers.

_I could go and find her... I regained all of my chakra so it wouldn't be a hastle... Don't worry about it Kakashi. She probably went to go blow off some steam._

I lied down onto the mattress and rolled off onto my side, to get comfortable. Finally, I went to sleep, still worrying about my pupil.

The next morning, I woke up earlier than everyone. I had already taken my bath and gotten ready for any battle. I sat down on the porch, enjoying the sea breeze I never got in Konoha, and read my book while the sun rose. I was still worried about Yami, but doubted that she would ever come back this early in the morning.

As I got lost in the book, I realized that about two hours had passed. I put away my book before I read into the climax of the chapter, and went inside to greet Tazuna's family and my team.

Breakfast was already set on the table and everyone was eating delightfully. By the time everyone was ready, an hour had passed and there were still no signs of Yami. Naruto wore a look of a constant worry, but didn't utter a word, which was out of his character.

"Let's go Team," I ordered.

"But what about Yami?" argued Naruto. I looked at him with a tired look, which meant that I also was worried about her, but told him that I couldn't let Yami interrupt Tazuna's plans.

"Bu-" he was about to argue again until Sasuke interrupted him.

"Shut up, Baka. She's fine on her own, she'll meet with us eventually. So stop worrying about your girlfriend," he said with a smirk.

The tanned blond blushed like a cherry, then yelled at the raven haired boy.

"SHE IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"

"Sure she isn't Naruto," teased Inari, looking more like a childish boy.

"Don't you even start with me you little-" started Naruto.

I cleared my throat cutting him off.

"Shall you lead the way Tazuna-san?"

___________________________Yami's Pov___________________________

I woke up whimpering from the shock of pain I received from moving, and struggled to get up. I quickly stood erect, but started to sway from side to side nearly falling back down. I gripped the side of my head, then remembered that I was suppose to guide Tazuna to the building so that he could finish it.

I shook my head, ignoring the dizziness, and ran as fast as I could to Tazuna's house. I stumbled many times and as numb as my legs got, I never slowed. I saw the house in view, and kept on running, letting the sand scratch my ankles. As I was ten feet in front of the house, I finally dropped to my knees, coughing and trying to gain my breaths at the same time.

Even in my pain, I still felt danger in the house. I strained to look up, and saw the house dead quiet. The sea in front of it made it look peaceful, but the empty streets behind it made it look suspicious. I painfully shifted, and stood on all fours. I walked into the house to see Inari defending his mother against two men in black. One man was bald, and the other wore glasses. They both worked for Gatoh.

The bald man had swiped Inari away, ready to attack the mother, when my growl had taken both of their attentions away from her and Inari.

"It's just a stupid dog," the man in the glasses said glaring at me.

"Do you know who we are, you stupid inu? We work for the almighty Gatoh!" the bald one taunted, as if I cared.

I never stopped snarling at the intruders, and that only pissed them off even more. The one wearing the glasses muttered under his breath, and took out his gun.

"I guess that only leaves us one option," he said, aiming straight at me. As his finger touched the trigger, a shuriken knocked the deadly weapon out of his reach.

"What the-!" they both exclaimed in shock. They both turned around to see Naruto to the rescue. He stood there proudly wearing his infamous grin.

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto! Don't forget it! I'm going to be the next Hokage!" his whiskered face lit up.

"What are you doing you idiot!" yelled Inari at Naruto.

Naruto's grin fell into an annoyed grim.

"I'm here saving your butt so shut up!"

"Don't tell me to shut up you blond!"

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSE TO MEAN!"

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN YOU AIRHEAD! YOU CAN'T COME BARGING IN LIKE YOU'RE A HERO!"

"**I AM A HERO YOU TWERP!**"

By now they were face to face, near enough to kiss, looking like they were going to bite each other's head's off.

"What the hell is going on... I don't know who the hell you think you are twerp, but you're going down."

The bald man took out his gun, since his partner was left weaponless. He quickly aimed it at Inari and Naruto, but dropped it by his foot when I lunged myself onto his leg. He screamed trying to fling me off as his partner attempted to kick me. Inari was quickly gripped by his mother, as they hid in a corner for some sort of safety.

The man in the glasses kicked me hard in my sides, forcing me to yelp in pain. I tightened my jaw, not letting go of the man's leg until it started bleeding. His scream echoed throughout the room, as Naruto knocked his partner out. I finally released my hold on the bald man's leg. He flung me half way across the room, making me slam against the wall. I slid down, landing on the floor hard. I struggled to get up, until I felt cold chills running through my spines.

My senses rose again as my ears perked up. I smelled danger and ran wherever my instincts led me. I ran and ran passed people and streets, but only briefly stopped in front of the incomplete bridge. I snarled with the urge of fighting building up inside of me and continued running. I stopped with a skid once I saw a fight. The man named Zabuza, who almost chocked me to death, was attacking my sensei. Sakura and Sasuke surrounded Tazuna to protect him from... Haku?


	9. Chapter 9

"You're quite the strong one, Uchiha," Haku said, wearing a white mask with red swirls. At the mention of his family name, Sasuke glared at the boy while gripping his shurikens in hate.

Haku charged straight towards Sasuke, but Sasuke threw him off before he could reach Tazuna. He ran after him, holding a handful of shurikens and threw them blindly at Haku.

Sakura was now left to defend herself, while Kakashi and Sasuke fought assassins.

Zabuza coldly glared at Kakashi-sensei with a harsh smile on his face covered by his mask. His deep threatening voice cut through the tension, "The Great Copy Ninja… I won't expect any less of you, Kakashi." A thick mist rose and made it nearly impossible to see six feet ahead.

I shifted back to my human form and quickly stood by Sakura.

"Sorry that I'm late," I managed to pant out.

Sakura gave me a half relieved, half thankful smile and Tazuna gave off a sigh, slouching his shoulders in a slight comfort.

Kakashi-sensei stood in the center, looking for Zabuza through the thick mist. He activated his sharingan and chased after him using the assassin's own tricks against him.

Their battle was nerve-wrecking and just as intense as Sasuke's.

Sasuke was trapped in a cage of ice mirrors created by Haku. The young assassin had somehow went into the mirrors and kept on throwing ice pricks at Sasuke, avoiding any attacks the Uchiha threw at him.

"Why won't you hit my vital points!" screamed Sasuke in anger. Haku didn't answer, but kept on weakening Sasuke rather than finishing him off.

Sasuke used his fire jutsu, but it had no effect. My leg twitched to go jump in and help my teammate, but Naruto had decided to make a dramatic entrance rather than being sneaky about it.

"It's Naruto!" shouted Sakura in happiness, but due to Sasuke's misfortune, instead of attacking the masked ninja on the outside of the cage, Naruto decided to join Sasuke in the trap also.

"Naruto, you baka!" grunted Sasuke in pain. His wounds felt like white hot pain, numbing his whole body.

"Don't call me a baka when I came here to save you!" yelled the blond in irratation.

"Sakura, I have to do something. Can I trust you?" I said, feeling outrageously distressed. She bit her lip in anxiety, but nodded her head. I quickly looked back at Tazuna with a look of determination and ran towards the thick mist Kakashi was engulfed in. Sakura was left to watch after her teammates, as they put their lives on the risk, while she protected Tazuna's.

"Seems we have an eager student, Kakashi," slightly chuckled the ruthless man.

Kakashi glared at me, silently ordering me to leave as soon as possible. I didn't respond at his demand, but glared at Zabuza with an unknown hatred.

A water clone appeared behind me, holding a kunai to my throat, making the hairs on my neck stand in alert.

His head neared mine, and he growled out by my ear, "Why does this student seem stupid enough to near..." he held the kunai closer to my neck "...an assassin"

I elbowed the figure behind me, and it melted into a puddle of water.

I looked up to the real ninja, who stood 15 feet ahead of me. His gaze didn't change as he stared intently at me. Kakashi stood by me, looking calm as usual.

"Yami, I will not repeat myself again. Go find Sakura," he strictly said. Zabuza charged at Kakashi and swung his mighty sword at the gray-hair man's head and it roughly slashed through his neck, making him melt into a puddle of water.

Kakashi's real figure stood by me, emptying any emotions on his face. Kakashi's order was clear as day, but I just had to do something. I closed my eyes, and focused on my hidden anger for this stranger, then felt a new surge of power run through me.

My canine teeth grew longer and standing felt almost impossible. I fell onto one knee and struggled to keep my head up. When I stared at the mist ninja's eyes, a spark of a recognition went off.

_**Kakashi's POV**_

I had warned my student to get out of Zabuza's sight to keep her out of danger, but her stubbornness was just as bad as Naruto's! It was clear that Zabuza was now targeting her and as I was about to grab my shuriken, Yami had fallen onto the floor, still glaring at the assassin with a defying look. I looked and noticed Zabuza's emotionless face turn to one wearing a smirk. His deep chuckle brought shivers to my students' spines.

"I never thought I'd see you again, young one" he stared at her with a cruel smirk that seemed to mock her existence. "Oh? Wolfie doesn't remember me? Aww. What a shame."

I looked back at my purple haired student to freeze at the sight her eyes. They looked like their usual wolf like eyes, but with a shade of a metallic silver rather than their usual a bright yellow. Her body kept on twitching and her pupils dilated, giving her an inhumane look.

"You don't remember me? Now that's sad, Yami. Don't you remember that I was your sensei at one point?" he cruelly laughed at her missing memories. She let out a silent scream and gripped her head in pain, and ran after the ninja in blind fury. I quickly ran behind her to catch her, but she was faster than I had ever expected.

I was utterly confused by Zabuza's words and just knew that I had to stop Yami from reaching him.

Meanwhile, as Haku kept on dodging Sasuke's attack in his mirrors, Sasuke's sharp eyes quickly noticed something.

"Naruto, attack him again" he ordered.

"Wha-?" the blond had started, but was quickly interrupted by him again.

"Just do it!" he yelled.

Naruto glared at the bossy boy, but complied with his orders. He distracted Haku with his shadow clones and shurikens, and Sasuke had finally found a way to attack the young assassin. Haku was bewildered that his weak spot was found. The two opposite boys teamed up together to defeat the masked boy, until Haku had stabbed Sasuke.

Sasuke grunted in pain with his eyes wide opened, and fell to the ground as he pulled out an ice prick from his chest.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and he quickly turned around and shouted at Haku. "How can you be so heartless!"

His face did not flicker under his mask, but he did tighten his fist.

"I'm not a person with emotions, Naruto. I'm just a tool. Zabuza's tool..." he said monotone, but a hint of sadness could still be heard.

Sakura screamed when she saw Sasuke fall flat on his back. Her scream brought pain to my ears, but I couldn't look back because my student in front of me looked like she was on the verge of insanity. I saw her take out her kunai and charge after the man, who kept on avoiding all of her attacks.

"Who.." she said in the middle of throwing a kunai at him. "Who am I!" she finished with a scream.

I quickly ran and took her in my arms, restricting her from running after Zabuza. He just stood there with his deadly gaze, staring at her intently as she wildly struggled in my arms, kicking and throwing her arms in the air.

"Calm down, Yami!" I ordered.

She seized her struggling and breathed deeply, nearly gasping for breaths, trying to regain some of her senses. I quickly ran towards Sakura and placed the immobile Yami by her.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura" I said giving her an apologetic look. I took off towards Zabuza, hearing her yell after me, "How am I suppose to take care of her when my Sasuke's dead!" with tears streaming down her face like a soft waterfall.

I slightly paused at hear the words 'Sasuke' and 'dead', but continued off to fight Zabuza.

"Let's finish this," I said making a bunch a hand seals, thickening the mist. My only response from him was his usual cruel smirk.

_**Naruto's POV**_

I stood over his body and a solitary tear fell from my eye to Sasuke's cheek. I quickly turned towards Haku, shouting at him in anger.

"How could you do that to him!" I yelled at Haku.

_Wasn't he that nice guy in the forest? Why is he being like this_

"I can't disappoint Zabuza, Naru-san..." he started. "He found me at my most vulnerable state and took care of me... We're the only ones who get each other... I'm sure you understand that. Don't you, Naru-san?"

My breath got caught in my throat once he asked me that. _Do I understand killing someone for a loved one?_

"No! I don't get that!" I shouted back at him with confusion and anger.

I saw him reach for his mask and slowly pull it off his face. Even in this situation, he still wore a look of innocence... His emotionless face now wore a sad smile.

"You know..." he broke the silence. "I told Zabuza about that."

I kept my gaze on him, not forgetting that my rival... my friend…. was dead because of him.

"Your heart..." he went on, "It's pure...golden... untainted... like your hair, really," he softly said as his eyes glistened with tears.

"Naru-san... please kill me."

My heart had skipped a beat. Did I hear him wrong perhaps?

"What..?" I stuttered in shock.

"Please kill me... I have failed Zabuza-san. I can't kill you... you're too pure," he somewhat mumbled in hopelessness.

Tears had started falling off of his pale cheeks. "If I can't kill you, then I'm no use to Zabuza," he reasoned as he shut his eyes closed, trying to hold back his tears.

"DO IT!" he said, not regretting a word he was saying.

"I-I can't," I said, loosening my grip on my kunai.

"Please, Naruto..." He begged as he wore a look of sincerity and desperation on his face.

Sakura had long ago went to find Sasuke. She hugged his still-body and found a weak pulse. Joy filled her up and she shouted to me.

"Naruto! He's not dead!" she shouted as more tears fell from her cheeks. "He's not dead!" She hugged the waking boy's body, with endless joy and relief.

I looked from the kunai to Haku, back to the kunai again, and bit my bottom lip. I shut my eyes closed and blindly threw the kunai at the boy's heart.

It hit dead on.

_**Third Person POV**_

Haku wore no pained expression. He laid on the floor, slowly dying with a smile of...appreciation.

He turned his head to the side and thanked Naruto.

He then turned his head to the other side and gazed at Zabuza. Zabuza had frozen in the middle of his attacks on Kakashi and they shared their last gaze before Haku closed his eyes for the very last time.

Kakashi and Zabuza stood 15 feet away from each other, panting and holding their wounds. Zabuza looked at the floor, with a feeling of emptiness.

"He was always too good for me... dying and still thinking of me..." he chuckled, covering his sadness as Kakashi stood still.

"Well, well, well. Look who couldn't finish his job."

Everyone paused and looked up towards the direction of the voice.

"Gatoh..." Zabuza glared at the man. Gatoh took the pleasure at glaring back at the assassin.

"After him boys," he commanded his henchmen.

Zabuza cruelly **laughed** at the man.

"You think that _you_ can beat _me_?" he laughed, mostly emphasizing 'you'.

As dozens of armed men went after Zabuza. Kakashi took this as a chance to go check up on both of his injured students. Sasuke had eventually come around and gained enough energy to stand up with the unwanted help from Sakura. Yami was barely conscious, but watched Zabuza with the little energy she had left.

_Why... do you have to...disappear...again..._ were her last thoughts before she was unconscious again. Kakashi checked to see if she was still breathing.

Zabuza ran after the men, taking them out one by one, and lastly took out Gatoh, and whispered something inaudible to him. He gave him one last stab, and stumbled his way to Haku. He fell onto his knees, 10 feet away from his faithful companion, and looked up to the sky crying. By this time, Yami had gained consciousness once more.

"We're... the only ones who... get each... other" he mumbled to himself. He crawled as far as his injured body would go.

Kakashi stood back and sympathized the man who had lost his closest friend. Yami silently struggled, and eventually got up. She stumbled towards Zabuza and helped the man who had cruelly mocked her not too long ago. She put him by his friend, and he whispered something, before peacefully dying by his only friend.

"I guess he didn't want to fight it," mumbled Kakashi.

Naruto walked towards Yami, and held her close, but she still blankly stared at the now dead ninja below her. Sasuke still wore a frown, almost as if he was completely unaware of the fact that he had almost died a few moments ago. Sakura just gazed at the boy she was helping to stand, with tears framing her eyes.

_**Kakashi's POV**_

**Later that day**

I was all packed up and ready to go. The whole town seemed to be grateful for what we had done. Inari and Naruto seemed to have gotten close and were sharing a heartfelt goodbye. But during this whole parting, Yami hadn't said a word. After Zabuza's death, she had been spacing out quite often during the day.

_Was there really a relation between them?_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Kakashi's POV**_

"Man, that was a totally awesome mission there!" shouted Naruto while grinning like the idiot everyone assumed he was.

"You do realize that we're going to have to tell the Hokage that the mission was more dangerous than thought and worth more than payed for... right?" pointed out Sasuke, ruining Naruto's good mood.

"What?!? Do we have to???" the blond outrageously whined.

"Of course we do! What kind of Konoha ninjas would we be if we kept secret from our Hokage!?" Sakura screamed at the blond, as if offended that he'd even said that.

_Children these days, _I dully thought.

I looked at my students having conversations among themselves, but saw the strangest one isolating herself from any socialization.

"We should be back at Konoha around night tomorrow," I said, estimating the time. "We'll camp once we get into a clearing."

_**Yami's POV**_

It had been five minutes and everyone found a good place to camp out. The sun had long hidden itself behind the mountains filled with tales. The clouds were now colored a pinkish orange and the moon had started to rise. The stars dully shined in the twilight. I had thought of Zabuza's last words, and they painfully rung in my head. They bothered me repeatedly and left me in a constant worry.

I picked up that last piece of wood that I found and headed back to the camp site.

Naruto already had come back with the water he was sent to get and Sakura already had come back with her share of berries. Kakashi and Sasuke finished setting up the sleeping bags and everyone was waiting for my pieces of wood so they could start a fire.

"Sorry about that," I mumbled, avoiding the unnecessary glare from Sasuke.

"Whatever." he mumbled in reply.

I put two to three blocks of wood on the patch of dirt and Sasuke used his fire-jutsu to easily light up the fire.

It was silent for about a minute, but I didn't mind. My attention was being dragged away by the flames. I wasn't a pyromaniac, but something about fire soothed my mind... my thoughts… It put everything to a stop and suddenly, things didn't need to make sense anymore.

Randomly, my thoughts were interrupted by Sakura.

"We should play 21 questions!" she shouted with a smile.

"Are you crazy? That's too many questions." stated Naruto.

"For once, the dobe is right," said Sasuke in his monotone voice, clearly wanting to avoid playing.

"Fine. Let's just reduce it to 5 questions. Is that better?" She glared at Naruto with hate. Naruto just looked at her with a sweatdrop, slowly scooting away from her. O.o;

"I'm not playing," I stated, making it clear as possible that I was not going to play and that was final.

"But-" Naruto started.

"No," I interrupted, not letting him finish.

"Bu-" he tried saying.

"No," I quickly interrupted.

"B-!" he tried once more.

"If Kakashi-sensei isn't playing, then neither am I," I finally said, cornering him since I knew the sensei wouldn't play such a pointless game.

Naruto gave me a pout, then mumbled to himself, "That's not fair. The old fart never does anything fun."

_That's the point, genius._

"Old fart? I'm only 26 and considered old???" wondered Kakashi out loud, obviously hearing Naruto. "I'm not old, thank you very much," he finished, closing his book.

"So does that mean you'll play??" asked Sakura filled with hope.

Kakashi looked at his blond and pink-haired students and said with a smile, "Yea- no."

_Awww. False hope. Poor things._

Sakura gave an angry pout while Naruto crossed his arms and glared at his sensei. Sasuke was about to open his mouth to also state that he doesn't want to play, but was quickly interrupted by Kakashi.

"Now you three little youngsters go play your game, while I talk to Yami," and quickly left with me before I could even register what he had said.

Sasuke stayed with Sakura and Naruto and watched in despair and anger as his sensei abandoned him with two idiots.

"Traitor," he mumbled, crossing his arms in anger.

"Okay! So, first question. Sasuke-kun, who do you like?!?" she asked, trying not yell but failing miserably.

He glared at her maliciously and said in an angry tone, "**NO**.**ONE**"

Naruto fell back laughing at Sasuke's irritated face. But feeling hurt and angry, Sakura thought he was laughing at her and kicked him, making him groan in pain.

While Kakashi was out of hearing range from the rest of his team, he took this opportunity to talk one on one with me.

"Did you have relations with Zabuza?" he asked out of the blues.

The question shocked me, but I shook my head. He slightly frowned, almost out of disappointment, but continued on with his questioning.

"What did he tell you, Yami...? You've been awfully quiet today," he sincerely asked. My twelve years old eyes look up at his and to search for a lie.

"Can I trust you, sensei?"

He seemed taken aback by the out of character question. He took a second to think of it, then simply replied with a yes.

He bent down on one knee to reach my eye level and put one of his gloved hands on my shoulder.

"I'm more than just your teacher, Yami. I'm your comrade. Your friend," he explained with no doubt.

My young eyes widened in surprise at his heartfelt reply, but gradually softened.

"Please trust me sensei. In due time, I'll tell you," I practically begged.

He gave off a sigh and slowly stood up while taking his hand off of my shoulder, and nodded his head.

I gave him a respectful bow and thanked him. As I strolled back to the camp site, I found Naruto shouting, "Of course I like Yami! What kind of silly question is that?!"

He glared at Sasuke.

"I meant do you _like like_ her," he corrected himself as he gave out an evil smirk.

The blond tilted his head to side and mumbled to himself, "Like...like?" His eyes were filled with confusion until his face flushed red.

His blue eyes widened in realization, and he quickly leaned away from Sasuke as if the dark brunet was a disease.

"WHY WOULD YOU ASK A QUESTION LIKE THAT FOR!?!"

Sakura giggled at Naruto's flushed face, then laughed at my facial expression when she noticed my presence.

Naruto gazed behind him and also saw my facial expression. It was confusion, curiosity, and shock, He freaked out even more, nearly falling on his back.

"Kya! Yami! What are you doing here? Did you hear anything? I didn't say anything! I swear! AH! Why!!!!" he rushed, covering his head with his hands out of embarrassment.

I chuckled slightly, calming myself down then pat his heads lightly.

"Don't worry about it," I went towards my sleeping bag, and wished everyone a good night.

It was silent when I got in my sleeping bag, but afterwards, they continued to end their game with Naruto refusing to answer the question.

I had fallen asleep quickly, not wanting or needing to stay awake any longer.

I didn't remember when or how I slept, but I started dreaming deeply.

_I was a simple wolf. _

_Japan was a small island inhabited by two types of wolves. The honshu wolf and the ezo wolf. _

_I was a honshu wolf. I had grey fur and was possibly the smallest type of wolf that existed. _

_These things... called humans, most of them worshipped us. As if we were a good omen. We wolves were never bothered up in the mountains. They always thought of ghost tales and evil spirits associated with the forest to keep themselves away, but we did occasionally meet vipers and bears._

_They even named things after us, like Okami'iwa -Wolf Rock- and Kobirotoge -Howling Wolf Pass...-._

_They saw us as a protector of mankind. A banken [watchdog in the mountains], which I take offense to. Hey, I might not look like a wolf, but I'm surely not a dog!_

_But others... they loathed us so. Pathetic villagers. They killed my family for food rewarded by people. They celebrated our deaths..._

_We protected them! What fools we were._

_Yet, we continued to be peaceful towards them. We only attacked when they cut too much of our land and when we caught this disease called...rabies?_

_  
I watched as my fellow species, the Ezo wolves disappear into extinction. Those damn humans. I curse those murderers to this day._

_Ninjas started appearing, my fellow pack members and I watched in amazement and fear when Shodai, the first Hokage, and Nidaime, the second Hokage built Konoha. Their power scared us, so we never bothered to encounter with them..._

_Humans grew selfish and greedier than ever. They cut our forests trees, killed too many deers. We were desperate, so we took their deers. They kept them safe and well fed. It was too tempting, we stole and ate. New pups arrived, and we needed the food. _

_Some of us were killed, trying to feed the pack, while others luckily escaped._

_Villagers got angry, and poisoned us..._

_It... paralyzed us, then choked us to death, unable to move... It was terrible..._

_Seeing my family dying… one by one…_

_We had made a hard decision, deciding who would stay and who would flee from death. Our alpha, he looked at me with pride. No fear tainted his eyes. That had given me strength, I knew what would happen to him and everyone else with him. No words were exchanged between us that night, but I was given the position of being an alpha. I ran, and everyone who was with me ran along by my side. I ran and ran for possibly 2 miles, then stopped, for the sake of the pups. My pack settled onto a clearing. I made sure that we would not have any encounters with bears. We had gone far from the mountains, but that would not stop a starving bear._

_I looked after them all. The elders, mothers, and pups. We were safe... but for how long? We could not move from the clearing, if we did, we would be seen. I looked at my friend, told him if I were not to come back, that he had to protect them. He gave me howl, filled with sadness and wished me luck._

_I ran and ran... I looked for help...maybe a human... of all things, could help me. I ran and ran until I saw the wall. A gate. Where inside stood the village the powerful beings had recently created. I stumbled onto a man with brown hair. He wore a shiny metal plate on his forehead, and held a gentle, kind look._

_I limped backwards, in fear that he would be like the rest who loathed us, but he went down on his knees, and pulled out a piece of bread._

_"Come on... come here little fella. I'm not going to harm you..." he smiled at me._

_This feeling of hope and security had filled me, and I slowly neared him._

_He held nothing dangerous, but a bag of sharp metal objects. I took the risk, and neared him step by step. I never took my gaze of him, but I quickly took the piece of bread, and backed away gladly. He put his hands down, still wearing a smile._

_I'll take the risk, I won't be too prideful. I'll ask him for my help._

_  
I neared him once more, and with a little less uncomfortably, then felt him pet my head. It was soothing... but I suddenly remembered. I moved away from his head, and tugged at his pants. _

_He stared at me with wonder, but when I let go, and ran towards the bush. He stood up, as he saw me stop and gaze back at him, and to my incredible luck, he followed me._

_I looked at him with no fear, hinting him that I was not running away from him, but leading him somewhere. I ran as quickly as I could, and this powerful man... he caught up with me with ease. _

_  
He left me in amazement._

_But I did not slow down, I sped up. I met up with the rest of my pack, and they all became quickly alerted when they saw the human. I growled at them, telling them to calm down at once. Being the new alpha, they listened right away, but still held a great amount of fear and distrust._

_"Wow... There are a lot of you. I thought you were extinct," he mumbled to himself as he frowned. "Can't let that happen now."_

_And he took us in. Not in the village, because of the ones that loathed us, but on the side of the village. A sub-village really. And then eventually, we gained people, and grew into a secret clan. For being the alpha, I unnaturally grew strong. Maybe I was blessed by a god… __**but now... Now I am-!**_

I woke up sweating with my heart pounding outrageously.

_What? Who are you? Why can't I remember?_ _The voice... it was so... mighty._

I shivered at the intensity of the voice. It boomed and echoed in my head. It was deep and sounded like a frightening growl. It sounded like the voice of a god… a murderer… a beast.

I turned to my side and saw that Naruto was still asleep. He moved slightly and mumbled in his sleep.

I sighed, covering up my fear as I clutched onto my sheet tightly.

I looked up to the twilight to see the morning stars, losing their brightness.


	11. Chapter 11

**_An experimentaion. Is it better and easier to read in the first person POV?_**

The sun had risen, giving the trees a sense of life

The sun had risen, giving the trees a sense of life. The monstrous voice from my dream echoed in my thoughts and continued to give me chills that ran down my spine. Kakashi had woken soon after I did, but I didn't get a chance to notice him because I was still in my sleeping bag, sitting up, and watching the sun rise through the trees.

The dream had soon left me in wonder. Why did it give me such a feeling of worry and anticipation?

I wondered off with my clothes in hand, and got ready before anyone could follow me. I took my time enjoying the scenery and when I came back, everyone was up and ready. Naruto had made some ramen for his usual breakfast and offered me some of his, but I denied his offer.

Just like my best friend, I loved ramen. But one thing I could not do was eat it first thing in the morning. _Naruto is seriously a ramenholic. Maybe there should be a therapy session about ramen. Who knows._ I thought to myself.

As everyone was getting all set and ready, it eventually became obvious that Sasuke was looking at me **very** suspiciously. Due to the fact that the wonderfully, lovable, popular Sasuke kept his attention towards me for most of the walk back to Konoha, Sakura became my newly found enemy at the moment.

She tried tripping me, pushing me, _accidentally_ bumping into me so hard that it would cause me to stumble. I tried calming down and finally just decided to ignore her. Even the oblivious Naruto had tried to stop Sakura numerous amount of times, but she was blinded with pointless jealousy.

_Damn, did she pick a __**wrong**__ day to mess with me,_ I angrily thought.

Ever since the sun had risen, all I could think of was my dream. _Was __**I**__ the wolf?_, I questioned myself._ It didn't feel like it... Someone else's story, maybe?_

_But I'm not familiar with it at all..._

But whenever I was even close to coming up with an answer, **Sakura** interrupted my train of thoughts. Being pushed over the edge by her last accidental push, I swiftly turned around, shocking Kakashi-sensei and maliciously glared at Sakura and Sasuke. All Sasuke did was glare at me even stronger than usual and hmph'ed at me.

Sakura crossed her arms and looked defiantly at me, finally setting me off. Without thought, I quickly grabbed my shurikens before I could even stop myself and chucked it at Sakura's clothing, pinning her to the nearest tree. I came up real close to Sakura's face and stared at right into her eyes.

"You' really picked a crappy day to be pissing me off. Whatever you got stuck up your ass, you better get over it real quick before I hurt you" I growled.

Sakura's green eyes showed fear. _Did my voice just sound...monstrous?_ I roughly pulled out my shurikens from the tree and placed them back in my pocket.

I looked back and forth between Sakura and Sasuke and warned them both.

"Back off"

I walked on ahead with Naruto who was acting completely oblivious by my side. Kakashi kept on walking at his pace, taking note of everything that was happening.

"Now, now, Yami. It's not polite to threaten your teammates' lives." He lamely said.

Sasuke grumpily followed behind his sensei, leaving the girl with no second thought, and continued to glare at my back. Sakura was left still frozen in fear, getting goose bumps from my aura. She shook the feeling off, and jogged a bit to catch up with the team.

As Naruto and I walked ahead of everyone, we randomly talked about ourselves.

"So Yami, what clan are you from?" he wondered with his hands behind his head.

I looked at his blue eyes matching with the sky.

"Okami clan"

"Okami clan?" he wore an expression of confusion. "I never heard of that one before... Is it a Konoha clan?"

I gave him an understanding smile, easing his confusion.

"It's a secret clan"

"Secret...clan?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. "Why is it secret?"

"Because people hated wolves around the time it was formed..." I answered. I remembered bits and pieces, but not my whole past. It was just...a blur.

"Really? I don't see why... wolves look like cute doggies" he grinned like a six year old. I laughed at his comment and it only made his smile widen.

"Well yeah. That's why wolves are extinct in Japan" I informed him. He looked at me confused, and then tilted his head in silence.

I smiled once more at his silent question.

"That's why my clan's secret" I winked at him.

I look away from him and stared on ahead to see the gates of Konoha coming into view. I sighed not feeling much of rejoice of coming back home.

"What about you, Naruto?" you questioned.

He looked up at the sky and let his hands hang at his side. He slowed his pace, and stared at passing bird in deep thought.

"I'm not really sure to tell you the truth," he answered.

The Konoha gates started coming into clear view, and both of us slowed down so that the rest of team would catch up. Konoha guards opened the gates at the sight of our headbands and sensei.

We were led by our sensei through the village and the villagers stared at me with no recognition in their eyes, but with a hint of distrust.

_How nice. Having your own people distrust you for no reason,_ I rolled my eyes in frustration.

Quietly following my sensei, I kept my head down to avoid their stares. The team had grown silent and some of us grew anxious as we climbed up the stairs of the Hokage's building, but regardless of everyone's separate emotions, it all came to a halt as soon as Kakashi's knuckles collided with the wooden door.

The halls filled with silence as an answer was awaited.

"Come in" said Sandaime Hokage with an old, rough voice.

Kakashi walked in smoothly with no traceable emotion on his face, as a ninjas' face should be in front of their superior. Kakashi may be a fool with his book and a great procrastinator, but never would he disrespect a Hokage.

"The third, we have completed our first mission, but…" he lingered.

Sandaime raised a white brow in curiosity and leaned forward onto his palm, as his elbow was on the table.

"But, we were falsely informed as the mission was not **C** ranked as thought," he continued. "It proved to be quite dangerous, but successful."

Sandaime grunted in recognition and pulled out a file from his drawer. He opened it and quickly scanned through it, nodding his head.

"Ah. It says here that due to your success, their economy has quickly risen," he mumbled. He gave off an old smile and said, "Well, I'm sure that they'll pay their dues once they get the money. No point in making a fuss out of nothing, right?"

Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise, but then he smiled at his superior's kindness as Sandaime chuckled.

Naruto grinned in relief at not being scowled at for not returning once we were informed that the mission wasn't **C** ranked. He slightly looked to the side and stuck out his tongue at Sasuke and Sakura for worrying.

He took a quick step forward and pointed his finger at the Third in victory.

"I told you that I could do it!" he laughed, in his own arrogant, little way.

Sakura quickly gripped his ankle, and excused herself as she dragged him outside. There was a silence, then yells and screams at Naruto from Sakura about how he disrespects the Third. She slyly came back in the room with Naruto limping behind her. She gave the Third and Kakashi a crooked smile as if nothing happened.

A sweat drop appeared behind the Third's and Kakashi's head, as they both thought, _she has quite a vigorous temper like Tsunade…_

I stared at Naruto who was quietly mumbling to himself in pain and took note of how he never avoids getting yelled at. How much of Naruto is a mystery?

He continuously amazed me with his odd behavior that people avoided or took for granted. Once I started to ignore his happy-go-lucky attitude, I noticed the cruelty around him, but never had I seen his expression falter.

The only day I had ever seen him close to sad, was that one day…

_"Get away from there!" I shouted once I saw random men chucking pebbles and stones at Naruto's window. They had already done some damages, so it was best to quickly drive them off before they did anything worst._

_I quickly jogged to Naruto's room to see if he was hurt in any way._

_As I entered the room, I slowed my pace and quickly looked around for him. I looked in a corner by the shattered window and saw him…_

_I stared at my best friend as he looked up at me with eyes filled with guilt made my heart ache. I stared at his shivering form in the dark corner, as his sky blue, teary eyes stood out in the dark. His eyes showed so much vulnerability and fright. He tried giving me a reassuring smile, as if to tell me he was alright, but failed miserably. Before I considered my actions, I dropped to my knees and held him in my arms, trying to comfort him in any way I could._

_I felt him shiver in my arms while my shoulders were becoming warm and damp. He shivered violently as he attempted on trying to calm himself down. I stared down at him as I lay very confused. What was bothering him so much? Was it those men?_

_Tears came to my eyes at Naruto's sadness. It was impossible to imagine him in such a state. I held on to him, reassuring him that I'd stay by his side no matter what. He responded by shivering even more violently._

_He hugged me back, slightly grabbing me, as if not wanting to disappear, while burying his head into my shoulder. He quietly whimpered as more tears fell from his face. We both sat in the corner, hugging each other._

_I waited for him to calm down and carefully asked him._

_"Naruto, why were they yelling at you like that? Did you do something?" I looked to see Naruto's eyes dead, which scared me. He suddenly got up and masked his face with a fake smile._

_"Come on, Yami! Nothing happened, Yami, come on let's go so we won't be late for training, we might get a good mission today" he said his voice __suddenly__ filled with enthusiasm. I frowned at the sudden change of feelings, and how even after all of that, he still managed to cover everything up with a smile._

_How much did you have to go through to learn how to cover up your feelings so well... Naru-chan..._

I looked away from him and emotionlessly stared at my Hokage. He leaned back onto his chair, making it squeak, and grunted.

"I suppose you're all waiting for your pay?" he questioned us.

We uncertainly nodded our heads, not wanting to offend the Third with our impatience and greed.

He leaned forward and opened his drawer, taking out four sacks.

"Here are your earnings. Now, may you please excuse us?" he smiled at us, shaking off any discomfort or paranoia that he'd be talking about us to our sensei.

We gratefully stepped forward, and meekly took the bag of yen. And by 'we', Sasuke was completely excluded. He roughly took the sack of yen, and left without a second glance with Sakura tagging along behind him.

I took my bag and waited for Naruto to take his. I slightly bowed to the Hokage and to my sensei to show some form of respect and walked out of the room. Naruto raised a brow in confusion and awkwardly bowed then dashed out of the room.

The door slid shut and footsteps were fading away. Sandaime eyed Kakashi then stared at the chair, offering him a seat. Kakashi sat down and leaned back, crossing his legs. Sandaime also relaxed and leaned back, lighting up his pipe. He inhaled some of the tobacco smoke and thought of his words.

"Have there been any symptoms?" He clearly asked, gazing out of his window.

In an instant, Kakashi immediately knew of what the Third was talking about. Kakashi nodded his and recalled some past events.

"It seems that earlier today, before sunrise, Yami had an extreme change in her chakra flow. Which indicates that…" he lingered, as if he regretted saying his words. "It's nearly time."

"What else?" pushed the Third, knowing that something else had happened.

Kakashi didn't hesitate, knowing exactly what else to add in.

"As she and her teammate were having a…. quarrel, her voice deepened in a… monstrous manner, once again augmenting her chakra in a brief period of time."

The third's facial expression hardened. He turned his chair around, with his back facing Kakashi, and stared out the open window as he blew a smoke. He took in a deep breath and said, "If the last symptom occurs… You know what to do, Hatake."

He turned his chair around and saw no one. Kakashi knew better than to stay after an order. Sandaime opened a file on his desk and reviewed team's 2 mission report.

As Naruto and I strolled down the stairs of the Hokage's building, I sneezed.

"You catchin' a cold?"

I wore a confused expression and shook my head. "No. I think someone's talking about me," I assumed.

We strolled down the roads, ignoring obvious mutters and whispers, and headed to a playground. I kicked a pebble as we walked and continued kicking it.

"I think I shall call you Bob, pebble." I said out loud without noticing it.

Naruto gave me the oddest look, but I didn't quite catch it.

"It's bob, bob, bob, bo-o-o-o-ob, the pebble! To entertain me and save me from boredom!" I sung as I kicked bob, the pebble.

"Did you just name a pebble?" he asked taken aback.

I looked at him and smiled out of embarrassment. "I'm bored! You can't blame me," I explained. I bent down and picked up the pebble. I reached in my back pocket and pulled out a black sharpie.

"Why on earth would you carry a sharpie?" shouted Naruto.

I quickly glared at him, silencing him, and told him to shut up. I took out the cap of my sharpie and drew on the pebble. I smiled at my silly creation and handed it to Naruto. He tilted his head in confusion and looked at a smiling rock.

He rolled the rock and saw my initials on it. Y.O.

"YO? What the heck is- OH!! Yami Okami! That makes so much more sense!" He laughed.

Then the awkward silence came.

"So… What am I suppose to do with…bob?" he asked.

"Keep it!" I smiled at him, as I walked away.

"Where ya goin'?" he shouted at me.

I giggled then pointed behind him. He turned around, to see his apartment, looking absolutely shocked at already being home. He turned back and pouted, crossing his arms.

"Fine! Don't give me a hug then. See if I care!" he cried out, turning around to go home. I quickly ran behind him then gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't be such a sourpuss;" I told him, "I'll see you tomorrow!"

I gave him one last smile and went home to end the day.

If only I had known…

How true those words would be… for so long…

But blinded with happiness, I went to bed without a care in the world. I smiled out of excitement before I closed my eyes. How much I had waited for the next day, just for Naruto….

Darkness soon overtook me and led me to a familiar realm of dreams.

I looked around, being taken aback at this odd scenario. Why was I conscious while I was asleep? Why was I in a forest?

I was in a clearing in the undisturbed forest, looking in amazement at the mountains.

"It is beautiful. Wouldn't you agree?"

My heart jumped at the unfamiliar voice behind me. I quickly turned to see a gigantic wolf. Right away it was possible to see that the wolf was a female. It held delicate, petite features for its size.

I stared at the mesmerizing, golden eyes that paralyzed me with fear and uncertainty. She was at least fifty times taller than I, yet sat peacefully in the undisturbed forest.

"I assume you'd want to know who and what I am," she lamely said.

I did nothing but stare up at her. Her voice was not monstrous, but husky and light.

"I am Okami the Great. Founder of the Okami clan," she said.

At the mention of the Okami clan, my attention was held and my heart pace seized.

"But…I am formally known as," she continued, "Jyu-sanbi."

She maliciously smiled down at me.

"The thirteen tailed demon!" She roared in the familiar monstrous tone.

She laughed in an evil manner and lied down, coming face-to-face with me.

"So… You are my master?" She inspected me from head to toe. "Rather interesting…" she lingered staring at me with squinted eyes. All of a sudden, she stood on all fours and calmly said, "I do hope you don't mind…"

In a blink of an eye, she was gone.

Jyu-sanbi left the dream realm and temporarily possessed Yami's body. She fell to her knees and clutched the bed she was near to as she felt an excruciating pain down her spine. She bit her lip hard to hold back a whimper and painfully stood up. She tried to shake off the unbearable pain, but failed.

As thirty minutes passed, Jyu-sanbi was finally able to take a deep, painless breath. She felt her ears to find them replaced by wolf ears. Σ:)

She sighed then touched her lower back to find a black, soft tail.

She looked around quickly then scurried out the apartment, looking for her objective. She inaudibly ran throughout half of the village until she saw the Hokage's building. She looked around once more, making sure that no one would see her, and dashed up the stairs and halls that led to his office.

She stared at the familiar door then knocked on the door without hesitation.

"Come in," said the Hokage, surprised at the sudden visit.

She strolled in gracefully with her tail matching her movement, and stared at him dead in the eyes.

"Sandaime, it's been far too long…" she smiled at him.

His eyes hardened as he leaned backwards. "Jyu-sanbi… It's been too soon."

"Oh shush…" she chuckled, "don't be like that with me, Sandaime. Since when have I've ever been viewed as bad?"

"Since your appearance means an unwilling goodbye of a Konoha child," he grunted.

"Yami? Oh yes, it will be painful for her, but worth it. I promise not to harm her though…" she said as her eyes softened.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sandaime continued to glare at Jyu-sanbi. Her eyes softened at the Third's visible fury. She sat herself down in front of the Third's desk and took in a prepared breath.**

"**Sandaime… You and I both know that she will need this. Unlike all of the other tailed beasts, I was not sealed within her because I was a threat. I was sealed because it's tradition."**

**He waved his hand, dismissing her speech, and stared on. "I know your tradition and I know that she needs this," he said, "but she needs to know what she is about to get into."**

**Jyu-sanbi glared at the Sandaime and simply told him, "even if she doesn't want to go, I'm still taking her…" she simply warned him.**

**He frowned at the agreement but reluctantly nodded. "Jyu-sanbi, show yourself."**

**Jyu-sanbi closed her/my eyes and in a split second, she appeared within the realm of dreams and stared at me, as I was still lost in confusion within the forest she first showed herself to me.**

**Her eyes shone vibrantly as they stared down at me. All of the sudden, I was engulfed into darkness. I gained my consciousness quickly into reality, to see that I was in the Third's office. I stared at him dazed, confused, and in panic. He immediately shushed me and gestured to me to sit down. I literally fell onto the chair and tried to calm myself down.**

**Once I found control over my emotions, I stared up at the Hokage and mustered the courage to ask. "What am I doing here?" which basically covered the **_**how, **_**the **_**why**_**, and the **_**when**_**.**

**Sandaime did not dare hesitate and strongly spoke out.**

"**Ookami, Yami. You come from a very secretive and traditional clan. The Okami clan has helped form Konoha itself. I am quite sure that you know of your clan's history." He did not wait for her response, knowing full well what her answer would be.**

"**There were two kinds of wolves in Japan and as you should be well aware of, the Ezo wolves were the first to become extinct. Your clan derived from the Honshu wolves. One Honshu wolf seemed to have been blessed by the gods, or so they say, and brought the surviving wolves to our first Hokage. Their alpha, the blessed one, was the first of their kind to contain chakra, like the tailed beast. Thanks to her, few wolves survived Japan's moment of ignorance and hatred towards them."**

**He paused for only a slight second, letting her mind register the new information. She barely knew of her real history since no one was there to teach her.**

"**The wolf you saw in your dream is that very same alpha." He informed me.**

"**So what…I dreamt of my clan's founder?" I inquired feeling lost, but also scared for some reason.**

"**Do you know of the tailed beasts, Yami?" He asked me.**

**I shook my head solemnly and felt my heart getting heavy.**

"**There are in total nine tailed beasts. They each possess a form of an animal. Although we're not quite sure what all of them are," He paused, thinking of his words, then continued.**

"**But we are quite certain of the one and nine-tailed beasts."**

"**What does this have to do with me?" I interrupted. I quickly apologized for interrupting him, and then put my head down to avoid his stare. He didn't scowl at me or anything, but merely continued on.**

"**The tailed beasts, biju, are chakra monsters. They were used in ninja wars and as peace treaties. Their powers differ by the amount of tails they possess," he paused and turned the back of his chair towards me, so that he could watch out of his wide window, "but with the amount of power they hold, they are considered a threat to anyone and everything. This is where Jinchuriki comes in."**

**He turned his chair towards me, staring at me with certain intensity in his eyes.**

"**Jinchuriki means 'Power of Human Sacrifice', but they're simply called hosts. They have the ability to use the biju's, within themselves, chakra. With the massive amount of chakra the biju hold, they naturally have bestial natures that tend to be seen as cruel. When they are sealed within their hosts, they have the benefit of the hosts' knowledge, giving them the ability to speak to their hosts within the host's mind."**

"**There is a sad downside to being a host though…" his voice got very deep. He took off his reading glasses and pinched the part of his nose, where his glasses were placed, to relieve some stress. (A/N: If anyone knows what that part of the nose is named, please do tell me in the reviews.)**

"A person's mind and self control is most weak when a person is angry. Being a jinchuriki often means to live a life of isolation, which causes anger. When a jinchuriki's mind is weak and filled with anger, the biju can easily take control of his/her body and state of mind by convincing its host to use an uncontrollable amount of chakra to cause chaos," he sighed afterward. "It's as if a miniature tailed beast."

I stood up all of the sudden, being filled with anger and confusion. He looked at me with a shocked expression at my sudden movement. I glared at his direction, not really glaring at him, but merely at the situation.

"What. Does. This. Have. To. Do. With. Me." I strained out, trying to keep in my anger. I knew since his words were coming out of his mouth that his speech had to have an important significance to them, but the suspense was driving me insane by this point.

"I understand your frustration, but please sit down, Yami" he told me with a soft tone, not taking offense from my actions.

I sat down calmly, despite my growing anger, and forced myself to listen to the Hokage.

"There are nine tailed beasts. As you know, the five tailed is in the form of wolf. So, how could Jyu-sanbi be a wolf also? This has been hidden from everyone, for safety reasons. What I am about to say is absolutely confidential, do you understand?"

I nodded my head, being intrigued by this new information. I felt as if I had to know this or I would die if I were to be deprived from his secret.

"As it turns out, every biju were born with a twin. The five-tailed and jyu-sanbi are chakra twins. They were both born from a regular mother of Honshu wolves, which makes it impossible to know when the tailed beasts were born, but the five-tailed immediately was affected with random and rare amount of chakra and its monstrous size, thus being titled as a chakra monster," he explained the five-tailed side, then continued to explain the beast's, within her, story.

"Jyu-sanbi was always a regular wolf, but it seems that a chakra monster's twin has to survive Japan for a certain amount of time to possess so much chakra. She becomes her true self in her host…. That why in your mind, she is enormous, but in reality, it'd be impossible to separate her apart from others wolves if it weren't for her chakra," he clarified.

He sighed, getting a headache, but quickly dismissed his pain so that he could explain the journey which awaited the young Konoha girl.

"Most of the chakra monster's twins died. All of us Kages keep a special eye out for this information," he said, slightly glaring at nothing.

There was so much to tell.

"Why was Jyu-sanbi created…" I asked, fearing a dreadfully long explanation.

"When there's a yang, there's a yin," he simply said, staring at me.

I stood up, needing some fresh air, and asked, "The Third, with no disrespect intended… Why are you telling me this?"

"Yami… I-" he started, unable to finish his sentence. He took a deep breath then looked away from me while he said, "Yami, you will be starting a journey… away from Konoha."

"What are you talking about?" I asked suddenly feeling my heart weighing down.

"You will become a nomad, a wanderer, a drifter, whatever you wish to name it, but you will be so until I know that you are ready," a husky, feminine voice was heard.

I looked back, feeling alarmed by the unnoticed presence. A petite, brown wolf with a ghostly appearance sat in the corners, staring at me with bright ice-blue eyes.

"Jyu-sanbi?" I stuttered, remembering those eyes in the realm of my thoughts.

She quickly glared at me and snapped, "I know I'm petite. So stop staring you pathetic, disrespectful, and insolent idiot." Her words were fast and barely thought of, as if she had a natural talent of insulting me.

I glared right back at her, feeling my own temper rise. Before I could muster up a word, the Third quickly interrupted me.

"Jyu-sanbi, not now," he ordered.

Her ghostly eyes stared up at him, giving him a harsh glare, but she silenced herself. So many questions were running through my head. _Is Jyu-sanbi real or a ghost? Why outside of Konoha? Why now of all times? Why not a year ago or a year later?_

Sandaime interrupted my thoughts with a short speech. "Yami, you will be forced out of Konoha by sunrise. This is not an option. If you do not train, you will be a walking time bomb."

I felt a rush of emotions: sadness, anger, anxiousness, depression, and fear.

"What? You can't just tell me to abandon my life?! You didn't even tell me for how long," I shouted, straining my voice as I tried to hold back the tears forming in my eyes.

"That all depends on you, child," Jyu-sanbi muttered, not really wanting to stare at her host and pupil.

"What do you mean it all depends on **me**," I shouted, unable to calm myself down. _I finally have someone who doesn't ignore me. I have a clean slate, a new life. I'm not going to let this down!_ I frantically thought, trying to argue my way out of this situation.

"If you can learn control easily, you'll come back to Konoha sooner," she tried negotiating with me. I soon grew angrier at this sudden, unwanted change in my life. I nearly trembled with rage as I clenched my fist till they lost all feeling in them.

All of the sudden, I felt a sudden growing flow of chakra running through me. The hairs on my neck stood up and goose bumps traveled all over my body.

Jyu-sanbi simply stared at me. Her eyes shined with disgust, pity, and determination.

"Do you now understand why you need this training?" she barked at me. "You're weak and pitiful… Letting your anger get the best of you… That is how chaos is created, human," she scolded, her lip twitching, showing her sharp canines.

My anger came to an end once I realized how little control I held. The only thing that kept me sane and safe was my isolation and Naruto.

I fell to my knees and blankly stared at the floor once I saw how assertive destiny was.

"Can Naruto know? Kakashi even?" I managed to ask through my whimpers.

The third sadly shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, but Naruto cannot possibly know. Although Kakashi may," he said as if trying to lift my spirits. "He could even visit you. Would you like that?" he asked.

I nodded and hugged my shivering form. I shook my head to get rid of the fear that I held, and rapidly stood up. I left the room, strolled though the halls, climbed down the stairs, and silently walked through the village. As I was walking to my small home, I felt a little bit of wind behind me. I looked back to see the source, but saw no one and nothing. I turned around and shrugged the paranoia and walked once more until I felt that little gust of air. I turned around more violent this time, and still saw nothing. I looked to the floor to make sure I wasn't missing something, then looked behind me to see a tail.

I squeezed my eyes to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, to see that it was attached to me.

"It comes with your hormones and such. You like?" I heard Jyu-sanbi ask. I turned around and gave her the death glare of the century and stalked off, ignoring her. The unusual feeling of my tail irritated me, but not as much as the stupid wolf's.

I sped walked all the way to my house when I saw Naruto's house. I frowned at the site, but went directly into mine instead. I sighed, knowing that I'd miss this small hell hole and paced to my room. I took a small back pack and packed 2 pairs of cloths, 1 pajama, some pictures, hygienic products, and a pen and paper.

I sighed out of sadness once I zipped up my small little bag. I went to my table and pulled the drawer open to take some money with me. All of my kunais were on the outfit I had changed into, and it got me even madder once I realized that I had to cut a whole through my shorts for my tail.

I left my house, neat and clean so no one would complain, and continued to ignore Jyu-sanbi as I went to Naruto's house. As usual, he forgot to lock his door. I left my bag at the door and silently went to his room. He was snoring away in his cute little blue pajamas, and that made me nearly smile.

But I couldn't.

I was far too sad to smile. Earlier today was my truly last smile for a while.

I bent down to give him a kiss on the cheek and took off my favorite necklace. It was an odd blend of silver and gold and the symbol of my clan hung loosely off of it. I opened his hand and placed it in, and squeezed his hands shut. His hands automatically held on to it, as if he knew. This made me even sadder, and I left without looking back.

I silently ran out of his house/apartment and made sure to take my bag, and wiped off my tears.

I stood in front of the Konoha gates. Jyu-sanbi was to my right and Kakashi was to my left. The Hokage looked down at me with pity, while Kakashi stared at me with sadness.

"I'll just tell him that you went to do some special training with your family okay? You were rushed," Kakashi said, trying to reason with me as he bent down on one knee to get to my eye level.

A tear escaped my twelve year old eye, and he caught it in a fatherly manner. He looked at me with a deep frown and gave me a hug. "I promise to visit you as much as I can. Okay?" he promised me. I felt some reassurance at that, but still sighed in sadness.

Once he got up, I looked up at him and gave him a sad smile. "Thank you," I told him. He eventually looked away from, as if he was trying not to cry. _Since when is sensei so caring? It's not like he sees me as a daughter,_ I thought, questioning his actions.

"Hokage?" I called out. Sandaime looked down at me with wonder. "Promise me you won't let Naruto give up," I told him. He looked at me for a while then gave me a reassuring smile and nod.

"Where am I going anyways?" I asked no one in particular.

"We're going to see an old friend of mine," answered Jyu-sanbi. "He used to live here, but left in order to help us. I think you formally know him as," she stopped.

"Mr. Nekozuka, host of the twin Cat."


	13. Chapter 13

I had just left Konoha, under the Third's order. I sighed, wondering how things would be once the sunrise woke Naruto up. Due to the fact that Jyu-sanbi returned her ghostly figure within me, I was walking alone, and feeling the pains of loneliness. Jyu-sanbi didn't really want to talk to me unless it was necessary. So the silence of the woods left me in wonder as Jyu-sanbi directed me to our location.

_**Naruto's Pov**_

_I looked at myself through the mirror and styled my hair upwards. Everyday it was getting harder to spike it upwards since it was growing long. I eventually achieved my daily goal and sighed as I completed it. I looked at my Hokage suit and thought I looked proper until soft hands reached the front of my coat from behind and fixed the crooked suit._

"_Here you go, honey," my wife said from behind me. I took her smaller hands into mine and kissed them, being forever grateful of the luck bestowed to me. I sighed of content once I felt my wife's stomach rub against my back. I felt a kick. A grin grew on my face as I knew that I was going to have a healthy child. I looked at myself in the mirror once more, as if to engrave this moment into my brain, and then turned around to give my wife a kiss. As our lips collided, the happiness we shared was absolutely clear. I pulled back with my eyes closed, still feeling the love we shared oh so many years ago. I sighed once more, feeling complete and fulfilled. I opened my eyes to reveal my sky blue eyes to see her golden ones staring back at me. _

_I was her sky and she was my sun._

I opened my eyes and woke up once I felt the sun's rays hitting my eyelids. I stretched my arms, bringing them over my head then eventually in front of my face. My grip loosened as I stretched and felt something fall on my face.

I tried looking at the object, but ended picking it up in my hand. I sat up on my bed, letting the sheets reach my waist, and opened my hands. Once I gained my vision, I saw Yami's necklace.

_Why is it in my hands?_, I thought, still stuck in a daze.

I shrugged off the question and got ready for my day. I yawned as I walked across the street and stopped myself with a thought. _She probably went on without me. Better go to the (insert yawn here) meeting grounds…before Sakura…yells at me….again._

My mind dulled as I walked to the meeting grounds in a zombie-like state. I eventually saw Sasuke and Sakura doing there usual routine, Sakura talking with Sasuke ignoring her.

I sat at the base of a tree trunk and immediately fell right back to sleep despite of Sakura's rants. I fell into a dream-filled sleep.

_I opened my eyes to the darkness. _Why do I have a conscious mind in my dreams? Are they an omen? _Everything was blurry, so I tried blinking till my vision cleared. I tried moving, but found out that my ankles, wrists, and neck were shackled to the floor. I tried struggling away but they only left marks on my wrists. Eventually, I calmed down while breathing heavily in the darkness._

"_What is this place," I asked no one in particular._

"_It's nowhere," I heard a familiar, monstrous voice say. I looked to my left and saw a shackled paw. I looked up and saw Kyuubi who was just as shackled as I was. I glared at him, the one being the source of most of my problems, but didn't blame him for anything. "Why am I here?" I asked him, ignoring his intimidating size. _

_He ignored me and stared at something with great intensity. I eventually followed his stare to see Yami. Her hair was loose as always, and she wore her usual clothes. She stared at me with a sad smile, then waved her hands 'goodbye' at me. A solitary tear fell against her cheek as she turned around. In front of her, a great, brown wolf stood. Her feminine features stood out despite the fact that she was in animal. Her ice blue eyes ignored me, and focused on Kyuubi. _

"_We'll meet again," she paused. "Kyuubi," she then said._

_He nodded in recognition. "We shall," he hesitated. "Jyu-sanbi," he ended._

_The wolf, who I assumed was Jyu-sanbi, turned around and walked away. She vanished in the darkness, leaving behind Yami. Yami turned her head one last time, her back still to me, to give me a reassuring smile. "I'll be back," she promised. She turned her head forward, and took a step forward. That was the last time I saw her golden eyes. That's when a shock ran through me once I realized that she was my wife in my dream._

_With each step that she took, grey, fuzzy ears and a tail started appearing. As she walked into the darkness, her tail swung with her hips and she started fading away._

_My heartbeat started echoing throughout the darkness, becoming background music. I tried shaking the chains off of me while my heartbeat increased as I started to worry even more. "Yami! No don't leave me!" I screamed as my voice started to strain. I tugged and tugged and eventually, left marks on my wrist as I started crying. As she continued walking away from me, I fell onto my chin, slightly scraping it. I stared up at her fading form as I continued to struggle and sob. Once she disappeared from my view, I stopped struggling and started sobbing. My forehead was on the floor, while my hands found their way tied up behind my back. The feeling I felt as a child, once everyone completely isolated me because of the monster next to me, returned with an amplified emotional pain._

"_She will return. Don't fear," Kyuubi said. His chains vanished and he slowly returned to his cage that he was forever sealed within. It was the first time I had seen him so calm, probably the last too._

I woke with a loud gasp, to see Sakura hovering over me with a worried look. "Naruto, are you ok?" she asked. I touched my face to find that it was damp and wiped it with my arms. I gave her a fake smile and shrugged my sadness off. "Yeah, Sakura, I'm fine," I told her, standing up in a hyper manner. "Are you sure, Naruto? I mean… you looked like you were cry-," she started, but I interrupted her by saying, "Hey Kakashi, what's up?"

At first, Kakashi-sensei appeared with a grim look, but he quickly replaced it with his usual bored stare. "Well kids, seem like we have an uneventful day. No missions," he simply stated.

"Where's Yami," surprisingly asked Sasuke first. _Why did he have to ask that of all things...? I don't know whether it's from my dream or what. But…I just have the greatest urge…. to cry…_

"Oh…well, how about we take a seat?" suggested the teacher suddenly down again. He sat down Indian style on the grassy floor and waited for the rest of the team to join him.

Once everyone else joined him, he took a deep breath to explain. He found it harder to tell the lie once he saw my distressed face. "It seems that there was an emergency with the Okami clan and Yami was sent away a.s.a.p. to go through some special training," he stated with barely any interest in his voice. "She won't be back for a while," he added in.

"It'll be hard and odd missing a teammate, but we will learn to adapt," he said, as if he was trying to cheer us up.

"How long is a while?" asked Sakura.

"I honestly don't know," said the gray-haired teacher as he rubbed the back of his neck. Sakura worriedly looked over to her blond teammate. "Naruto," she hesitated. "Are you alright?" she uneasily asked, knowing Yami's importance to me. I slowly got up and stalked my way back home. _She didn't even say goodbye…_ I thought as a solitary tear slid across my whiskered cheek.

I dragged my feet home, and on the way there, I noticed Yami's house. My frown grew deeper as I went inside my house and slammed my door shut. I let go of my body onto my bed, and let my body bounce once. I buried my face into my pillow and tried going to sleep.

I realized that I'd do just about anything to get rid of this feeling once I stared at my still scarred wrists.

I never questioned Yami's clan's _emergency_. I didn't know anything of them and quite frankly I didn't want to know anything of them.

The next morning I woke up, I barged into Yami's raiding her room, looking for any signs of her. She had managed to leave her small apartment nice and neat. And that itself made my heart ache more, knowing that she had a chance to clean her room but not say goodbye.

This went on for a week and Kakashi-sensei and the Third excused my behavior.

I managed to go on with my life as if I had never met Yami. Well, it's more like Sakura '_invited herself in_' and dragged me out of my house by my ankles and threatened me to get out of my depression, or else she'd beat it out of me. As much as it pained me, I never mentioned her name anymore but I wore the necklace she left behind. I still didn't know whether to take my dream as a serious connection or a coincidence, but it was still an occasional wonder in my head.

It has been a half a year since Yami had left and I had gone through a lot. I was now half a year away from being fourteen (14) and life just seemed to be a cycle that ended.

My rival and friend, Uchiha, Sasuke, had been kidnapped by a Sannin, Orochimaru. Sannin were S-class ninjas that have powers so extreme that it's considered legendary.

During our mission to retrieve Sasuke, I was introduced to the sand siblings: Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro. They came from the Suna (sand) village, or the Sunugakure village. They were children of the Fourth Kazekage. Temari was the oldest of the three. She had rough, blond hair and carried a fan with her to aid her with her jutsus. She and Shikamaru so had a thing for each other, but wouldn't admit it. Kankuro was the middle child. He was a skilled puppeteer. At first, he didn't really like Gaara, but they seemed to get along soon after. He had brown hair and wore purple make-up. Gaara was the youngest amongst the three. He was a jinchuriki like I was. While I had the nine-tailed beast, inside him was the one-tailed beast, Shukaku. He had vibrant red hair, with pale, aquamarine-like eyes. For some odd reason, he had no eyebrow either, but that wasn't much of an issue.

They were sent to really spy on us, but in the end, they became our allies.

I was the most determined to rescue Sasuke, but in the midst of our repossession of our Konoha ninja. The Third had been killed and Sasuke had been taken from us.

It was one of the rainiest and darkest days on Sandaime's funeral. Konohamaru, his grandson, did not have the smile and spunky attitude that day. Instead, he looked down onto the floor trying his hardest not to let his tears escape his eye lids. Iruka was behind him, trying his best to comfort the young child as he had done for me for so many years.

Sakura had her hands covering her mouth to muffle her sobs, while Kakashi stared at the casket as it was being lowered into the hole. I just stared up at the sky and let some tears slide down my cheek along with rain drops.

We each had placed a rose after the dirt was shoveled onto the casket, and said our words. None of us were feeling revengeful but mournful and determined to make him proud.

At the end of the funeral, the sky had cleared up, as if the Third himself was telling us to move on and keep protecting Konoha at all cost.

Kakashi had declared that Team 7 was going to find Sasuke at all cost. Since there was temporarily no Hokage, the Jounins that handed out the missions were in control of Konoha while others searched for another Hokage.

There was one option. And that option was also a Sannin such as Orochimaru. His name was Jiraiya.

Jiraiya was an old pervert who was a famous writer of an adult-romance novel. Kakashi was probably his biggest fan since he was reading his books every time the gray-haired sensei taught us. Jiraiya was greatly respected and powerful despite his perverted attitude. He was wise, strong, and strategic, the perfect candidate for the Fifth Hokage. But when he was asked to be Hokage, he declined the position. He was a wanderer and he knew that being a Hokage would not be well for him.

He was entrusted to be my sensei once people realized that I wanted to find Sasuke as soon as possible, which meant becoming strong as soon as possible.

Jiraiya knew of the Kyuubi sealed within me and gladly decided to teach me of my limits and such while finding a Hokage. He had someone in mind, but told no one who it was.

Jiraiya taught me like his own pupil, like he had done with the Fourth, Namikaze, Minato.

Imagine that? I, Uzumaki, Naruto, was going to be taught by a **legend **and the teacher of the Fourth for two (2) years.

During our two-year-long adventure, I met a blonde who was a teammate of Jiraiya's, his choice of Hokage. Her name was Tsunade and she was Jiraiya's former teammate. She too was titled a Sannin. Tsunade had secretly picked me as her favorite brat, as much as she hated how I called her granny. Some even bothered calling us siblings or cousins. She might have been old, but she used a jitsu that kept her looking young and youthful. She was one of the few people I knew of who had blond hair and actually showed affection towards me.

Lee was in love with Sakura, who was getting over Sasuke. Ino liked Chouji, which was a shock to us all. Shikamaru liked Temari, which was more obvious than the fact the sky's blue. Kiba liked Hinata, which still took some time to get used to. And the cold Neji liked Tenten, which we found oddly hilarious.

**And let us not forgot that Might Guy was still freakishly green and had a frighteningly shiny bowl haircut.**

In the end, Tsunade became the Fifth Hokage. She was a bad, bad, BAD, HORRIFYINGLY BAD, gambler, but thank kami that being Hokage would keep her busy and away from Sake and casinos.

I was now sixteen (16) and at my favorite Ramen stand still adjusting to the changes that occurred in Konoha. I had just arrived in Konoha two days ago.

Kiba's dog, Akamaru, had grown immense! He was the size of a horse. It was extremely noticeable that Kiba had physically matured. He was taller and had more of a tone to his body.

Hinata's hair grew a lot long. It reached down to her mid back. She still blushed when she saw me, but not as bad as she used to. And she grew boobs….haha.

I barely remembered Shino. He got so mad at me and moped in a corner with his bugs. I don't think ladybugs like me anymore now…

Shikamaru was a teacher like Iruka! I never thought the lazy bastard would do something with his life besides play shoji and do shadow puppets… I sure hope he never hears that.

Chouji was even fa-…. More plump? He worked at the Ramen stand too.

Ino's hair grew longer and she grew boobs too! xD

Wow. Hanging around Jiraiya made me such a little pervert. I couldn't really help it.

As I slurped my noodles, I remembered that now it had been four (4) years since I seen or heard of Yami… I never really stopped thinking about her all those years.

I looked to my left and saw Sakura smiling kindly at me. Those two years when I left to go train under Jiraiya, she was training under Tsunade and grew insanely strong with physical strength.

We both were ready to go search for Sasuke… but not just yet.

My thoughts drifted back to my original topic, _I wondered what she's doing right now…_


	14. Chapter 14

Yami's POV

It had been four agonizing years since I've been from Konoha. After leaving Konoha, I had met up with Mr. Nekozuka, the previous jewel shop owner.

I had never known, but he was a jinchuriki too… Within him was the twin eleven-tailed cat demon.

I had learned many things from him.

Our chakras were green while the biju's were red. We were nearly their complete opposites.

But besides learning the basics of being a jinchuriki, I also learned fighting maneuvers. I learned how to control my chakra with more precise and how to blend my attacks with Jyu-sanbi's chakra.

It sounded pretty easy and simple, but when I meant precise, I seriously meant PRECISE. If any of my jutsus were off by half an inch, I would have to redo it five more times.

Back in Konoha, Mr. Nekozuka seemed like a nice, old man who hated feeling old, but in reality, he was a hard sensei. However during those four years, he did give a weekend break every month or so. Kakashi-sensei visited me as promised. He had grown to be a father-figure to me. He filled me in on all the current news that was going on in Konoha, and even bothered on giving me letters from my dear friend, Shikamaru.

I do realize that this was odd, seeing as how Shikamaru and I only spoke to each other an actual sentence once before we were assigned teams, but I guess it was somehow destined for us to become and remain friends.

I occasionally wrote to Kiba as well. It is easily understandable if this seems off topic since Kiba and Shikamaru don't even talk to each other, but it is because of him that Kiba and I started sending each other letters also.

* * *

_After the second week of training with Mr. Nekozuka, I had grown tired of the constant shunning from Jyu-sanbi and the cold, rough teaching of my new sensei. I was extremely appreciative of his teachings, but yearned for… a teenage life. It was already quite obvious that when I was in Konoha, I did not have a social life other than my team and mostly Naruto, but I still needed some form of socialization._

_I couldn't do much but keep in touch with Kakashi-sensei. When he didn't come by those three weeks a month, I sent him few letters. Since I couldn't personally give him my letters, Jyu-sanbi became my mailman with much dislike, but still insisted on doing it, no matter how contradicting it seemed. Her excuse? "At least I can stand __**his**__ presence, stupid fool."_

_Weren't we getting along so tremendously well?_

_After a while, it became official that I hadn't spoken to any student for two years. Goodness gracious, that sounded so long. At this point, I was growing as cold as Jyu-sanbi. I no longer minded the deep silence of the nature. My past time became drawing with the few sketch books that I had. I had grown tired of drawing trees, lakes, and the few wildlife creatures. Kakashi-sensei saw my lack of interest in drawing and my cold behavior. He started worrying about my mental health._

_As he told me of the current news in Konoha, he told me something that saddened me greatly. Naruto left Konoha. I understood that he was training with one of the greatest ninjas and that he was that determined to find Sasuke. I often wondered how the raven-haired boy was. Was he sad? Abused maybe? Or perhaps he had turned into a villain himself._

_I aimlessly wondered of little things as I awaited for Kakashi to come back after speaking with Mr. Nekozuka. Kakashi came back with his book in hand and a little glint of _something_ in his eyes. _

"_Hey, Yami," he started out.. "Don't you think you should start socializing a bit?"_

_I looked at him very suspiciously and countered, "with who?"_

_He smoothly shrugged, making sure not to show his fatherly excitement, and suggested every team member in Konoha. Once I started denying everyone he listed off, he crossed his arms and gave me a glare with his uncovered eye. "Now listen here, young lady," he started his speech. "You need to socialize. I did not just ask permission from Nekozuka-sensei for nothing."_

"_Permission?" I asked with an attitude. I didn't mean to get an attitude but still. Why would he need to ask permission? Permission for what?!_

"_Yes. Permission," he said, squinting his eyes even more to silence me. "As you know, you were not allowed to communicate with anyone other than myself for security measures."_

_I rolled my eyes out of irritation. Yes. I remember that rule quite clearly. That stupid rule probably cost my best friend._

"_Since you have impressed Nekozuka-sensei with your determination and mostly your improvement, you're allowed to communicate with people from Konoha," he finished with a happier tone. I raised my eyebrow expecting an exception and got it. "but…" he lingered._

'_There's always a but isn't there,' I glumly thought._

"_There are a few rules: you cannot mention Jyu-sanbi or any of the biju twins, you cannot mention your family," he started out, as my thoughts interrupted him '_as if I know anything about them_'._

"_Nor can you mention of Mr. Nekozuka to anyone," he ended. "Simple enough, no?" he added in._

"_And what if I don't want to?" I countered with a hint of anger._

"_If you don't socialize with someone new, you can simply forget about my visits. I might be to busy helping a lady cross the roads. Or I might be training with," he roughly ended with a shiver. "Might Gai."_

_My mouth dropped in shock and slight anger. I crossed my arms in anger and mumbled to myself, "No fair."_

"_Whatever," he said, rolling his eyes. "So, who will it be?" _

_My lips twitched to the side as a bad habit, as I carefully thought of my decision. Should it be Sakura? _I highly doubt so. She's probably still mourning over Sasuke._ Since the rest of my team isn't even near Konoha… I had to carefully choose someone._

Did I even talk to anyone else? _I hopelessly thought…. Then it finally came to me. _

"_Shikamaru," I boldly decided, even though I was positive that he had forgotten about me after those two years of missing from Konoha._

"_Shikamaru, eh?" He thought out loud while rubbing his chin. "Acceptable," he said in his usual lame tone as he shrugged. He pulled out his novel from the back of his pocket and read it as he ignored me. I stood still in front of him, wondering if he actually ignored me so simply. After a paragraph of reading, he looked up as he felt my dull gaze. His onyx eyes met my golden ones in wonder. "What are you waiting for?" he asked as if it was the dumbest thing he could say._

"_You have paper and pen. Start writing," he ordered, as he turned his back to me and plainly walked away. I sighed as my shoulder slumped down; I then waved him off with a gesture of my hand. _

_I tore of a page from my sketchbook and leaned against a tree trunk. What could I write about? How do I re-introduce myself to an old friend?_

"_**Dear Shikamaru**__," I said out loud, while attempting at writing Shikamaru a letter._

"_**It's been a while since we've last spoken, hasn't it? I think it's been well over a year since I've been last in Konoha. For all those months, my sensei had restricted me from speaking to anyone. He said that it would distract my training. So tell me, how have you been? Has team 10 been getting any good missions? Have you and Choji finally gotten along with Ino? I remember it clearly that,**__" I stopped myself. "Ah damn it. My pencil needs sharpening," I said as I glared at my pencil. I sharpened it furiously so I wouldn't lose any of my focus, and quickly resumed back to writing. " I remember it clearly that __**day when we were both assigned to teams. When Ino's name was put into team 10, you had the biggest frown you could muster.**_

_**Has Konoha changed since the last time I was there? I bet Ichikaru's ramen bar is still the hang out spot, right? Man, you have no idea how much I miss my ramen. Speaking of ramen, what happened to Naruto? I heard from Kakashi-sensei said that he had left Konoha, but never really told me the whole story. Well, I know that this was probably a really random letter, so I'll understand if you don't write back. But it couldn't hurt right?**__" I ended my letter with my signature. I sighed in wonder of whether or not I should send the letter. My lip twitched to the side, as I figure '_What the hell. I mean, seriously. What's the worse that could happen?_'_

_I neatly folded my paper in three-folds and handed it to Kakashi. He looked at the paper, neatly placed on top of his pages, then dully looked up at me and said, "I was reading that, but thanks for interrupting me."_

_He closed his book, with the letter secured within it, and placed it in his back pocket. "Nara, Shikamaru, right?" he asked to make sure. I promptly nodded my head as reassurance. He gave me a hidden smile under his mask and gave me a wave as he left. I stayed where I was when he left me and watched his figure slowly disappear. I bit my lip out of boredom and wondered if Shikamaru would write back to me. I felt a presence behind me, and quickly turned to see Jyu-sanbi glaring at me as usual. I rolled my eyes at her, quite annoyed by her cold attitude, and walked away to a nearby tree. I stared up at the tree, and recognized it to be the tree I spent my days on sleeping. I hadn't slept in a bed since I left Konoha. I sighed out of sadness at the fact on how much I missed my bed. I jumped past a couple of branches until I reached the one I preferred. I slowly sat down on the branch, and let my let my legs swing as they pleased._

_I stared at the upcoming sunset and waited for another month to pass until I saw Kakashi once more with my letter._

_After those nerve-wracking days had passed, I was filled with anxiety when Kakashi had handed me a letter._

He actually wrote back?_, I thought still in a state of shock. He wrote back in his own style. The Shika style as I had come to know it._

_To know whether or not Shikamaru wrote the letter, you have to look for certain sentences: "What a drag", "How troublesome", and "Such a pain"._

_He wrote very awkwardly and wrote me quite clearly his confusion and shock as to why I would write him two years after. Eventually, we managed to get go through the awkwardness and manage long, long conversations. As silent as he seemed, he was quite easy to talk to. He told me of numerous things such as his likes, dislikes, interests, and basic things._

_He asked me enough questions. Avoiding certain ones he had already asked that I had stop myself from answering. We easily talked of our personal interest, and as a result, we started writing each other more frequently and more detailed._

_After a year had passed, I seriously considered Shikamaru to be the closest friend to me since Naruto. _

_However, one day he was writing to me in a letter while playing his favorite board game, Shoji. He was recklessly writing a personal joke with a rare smile gracing his face as Kiba Inuzuka happened to be walking by. At first, Kiba had not even noticed Shikamaru until Akamaru sniffed the air and caught the scent of a canine on Shikamaru's letter from me. Akamaru eagerly barked at the unfamiliar scent, and jumped off of Kiba's shoulder and landed right now Shikamaru's game._

"_ARGH!!!" yelled Shikamaru out of surprise and anger that the white dog had ruined his game and letter and game pieces were flying into the air._

_Akamaru curiously sniffed my letter, probably smelling the faint mix of mine and Jyu-sanbi's scent and tilted his head in confusion._

"_Akamaru! What are you doing?!" Kiba shouted as he quickly went to grab his white dog. But in the midst of grabbing his dog, his arm knocked the letter out of Shikamaru's hold. The letter Shikamaru was reading fell onto the muddy floor. "Damn it!" shouted Shikamaru in anger._

"_You idiot! I was replying to that letter," Shikamaru managed to growl out. "Yo! Chill out, man. It was an accident," mumbled Kiba, rubbing the back of his neck._

"_What a drag," sighed Shikamaru as he picked up my muddy letter. _

"_Who are __**you**__ writing to anyways? Gotta girlfriend?" pestered Kiba with a grin. Shikamaru blushed at the accusation. "What? No!" he managed to say before Kiba yanked the partially muddy letter. _

_He read it as quick as he could and caught the name 'Yami'. Shikamaru swiftly yanked the letter back into his grasp and stuffed it into his pocket. He swiftly turned around to leave but was stopped by Kiba._

"_Yami?… wasn't that Naruto's girlfriend or something'?" he asked._

"_Best friend," corrected Shikamaru with his dull tone._

"_Oh yeah! That's it! Where the hell did she run off to? She sure messed up Naruto," he said, shaking his head._

"_She left because she had to. Wait. Why am I standing arguing with _you_ of all people. Such a pain… I'm leavin'," he said as he strutted along._

"_Yo! Tell her I said hi!" Kiba shouted, as he waved his hands to get his attention. Shikamaru continued to walk on as he ignored the brunet. _Baka…_ he thought as he went home._

_As soon as he opened his home door, Yoshino, Shikamaru's mother, angrily pointed a duster at Shikamaru while growling, "Shoes. Off. Now." He cringed, being terrified of his mother, and obliged to her order. _Women_, he thought tiredly._

_He trudged up the stairs and went straight to his bedroom to continue writing his letter. He wrote of everything that had happened and how Kiba miraculously remembered me despite the size of his brain. He even managed to tell me that Kiba said 'hi'. Afterwards, I forced Shikamaru to tell Kiba I said 'hi' and was wondering how he was. Shikamaru completely dreaded the idea of becoming a messenger boy, thus giving Kiba a piece of paper and telling him "Write what you need. I'll give it to her. God this is such a drag…"_

* * *

And that is how Kiba, Shikamaru, and I became friends. Even though I'm quite sure that they'd never show it in Konoha.

I sat on a boulder, listening to the leaves rustle because of the wind, and re-read one of Shikamaru's and Kiba's letters. I couldn't even sum up enough will power to force down the smile finding itself on my face. Sometimes, when they felt extra silly (I know. Shikamaru silly? It's not preposterous and far-fetched. Just…rare.) they would write on one paper and just edit each other's paragraphs.

For example. Shikamaru always writes **bolded** while Kiba underlines everything.

* * *

**Yami. So when do you think you're gonna come back?**What he means is when are you gonna come back and show us them boobies! I mean you MUST HAVE grown a cup since the last time we saw you!!!! ;]

**Why am I writing with him? I mean seriously… I could be cloud watching instead of this. **

Whatever. Yooooo! Yami!! Guess who has a girlfriend!!!! That's right. The woman-hater has a thing for the biggest man-hater of all the lands!! That Temari chick he talks about!

**You and I both know that is the biggest load of crap that ever came out of his mouth.**

* * *

After that all I saw was scratch and pencil marks and you could just assume that they were fighting.

**  
**And that was a bit of one of their past letters.

* * *

I'll write to you later. This A$$hole is taking up a lot of energy in my Shadow Possession Jutsu.

* * *

Shikamaru was never a violent person. He's what you could consider a passive-aggressive sort of person. He would die before wasting his energy to physically do something, but his vocabulary could evolve into one VERY colorful.

Kiba was nearly just like Naruto. Although Naruto surpassed everyone in Konoha for the most sense of determination award, Kiba was a bit more of a pimp than Naruto.

Even though Kiba didn't have a girlfriend, it surely didn't mean that he didn't get offers. Kiba was always the sort to keep his choppy, short, brown hair cut. He had a wolfish grin that could make a girl's knees weak and slightly intimidating eyes that looked like slits. When he was out of his ninja outfit, which was barely, he loved to wear fishnets which showed how comfortable the boy was with his body.

Shikamaru stayed away from female contact as much as he could. He seemed like such a woman-hater that people couldn't assume he was gay. But, Shikamaru was the way he was for good reasons. And that reason was his mother, Yoshino. She held Shikamaru's father's balls by the hand. She had him whipped. She had him on a leash. Whatever you decided to call it, Yoshino owned Shikaku and she owned him **hard**. But Shikamaru still took interest in some woman. He would tell me too. He would never date females, but sometimes he would lead on some tourists. Sometimes, he'd put on some eyeliner and just linger in the shadows of a corner.

When I thought about it, I laughed because I knew that some women were into the 'mysterious' sort of guy.

He would smile at a girl, and she'd get too interested, then he'd ignore them. His tactics made no sense but I guess the fact he knew he could get a girl inflated his ego.

I loved those two regardless. They'd send me pictures of Konoha and their families. Shikamaru's parents, Yoshino and Shikaku would always send me their hello's and love. Kiba's sister and mom, Hana and Tsume would always ask me when I'd come to take Kiba off of their hands.

I felt happier knowing that I had a family in Konoha. The Nara and Inuzuka clan.

"Is that a smile I see?" I heard someone ask. I jumped in shock and quickly turned to see Kakashi.

"Shut up, old man," I said with a smile.

"I'm old now? Come on, I'm only 29," he said, frowning.

"You **do** have gray hair," I counted.

"My hair is sexy. Don't be jealous," he said, running his hand through his hair.

"Ewww… don't comment about your sexiness to a sixteen year old. Freakin' pedophile," I mumbled, trying to keep a straight face.

"Yeah. Whatever kido," he said, ruffling my hair. I squinted my eyes, feeling my hair falling in front of my them. I quickly went to fix my hair and brushed it neat with my fingers.

"So, how's the training with the old man?" the gray-haired sensei asked me. I looked at him and shrugged. "It's alright," I replied. "We train a lot. Ol' man Tsume disappeared on me for a day or two. Don't really know where he went."

Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows and asked, "and you're not worried as to where he is?"

As soon as I opened my mouth to reply "no", I felt a whack on my head. A hard thump echoed throughout the forest. I bit my lip hard to shout out and instantly knew who hit me. "First of all, you do not call me old. Secondly and most importantly, you do not call me by my first name until you are no longer my pupil," Mr. Nekozuka said sternly.

"Yes, sensei," I strained, rubbing the sore spot on the back of my head. "Kakashi, how was your trip here?," he then asked Kakashi so very casually. "Wasn't bad at all. I came here as soon as you sent me the letter," he replied to my current sensei.

_What letter?,_ I thought genuinely confused. I had no idea that my sensei sent Kakashi letters.

Mr. Nekozuka sensed my confusion and turned his body towards me to give me his full attention. I knew this was about something important, so I gave him my full attention and sat up straight with my legs crossed. I even noticed Jyu-sanbi was by his side smirking at me.

"Ookami, Yami. I have taught you for well over four years. You have learned how to control yourself physically and mentally. Your control over your chakra is to be admired. Despite your relationship with one another, you and Jyu-sanbi have learned to combine your strength and skills. I do well believe that it is time you discover your abilities of the Shadows and Flames."

I looked at my sensei, Mr. Nekozuka. I knew what he was telling me was something I had wished for over well four years, but I couldn't believe it. "You mean I-", I stuttered. "I get to- home? I get to go home?" I asked in a tone I'd generally classify as pathetic.

"You have earned it, young one," he said as he gave me a respectful bow.

Tears framed my eyes and I stood up and gave my teacher a long bow as I thanked him. When I stood erect, Jyu-sanbi's gaze caught my attention immediately. Her lips did not move but I felt an immediate connection between us as I heard in my thoughts. "I can finally see you as my…." the silence was deafening, but the last thing she said, soothed all in my thoughts. "master," she ended as entered my body.


	15. Chapter 15

I stood by the tree I had slept on for four years and looked around myself.

I closed my eyes and let myself feel every caress from the wind and every note she sung. I heard the tree leaves rustle and the nearby river flow. I listened to the birds sing and flap their wings. I listened to everything so intently because… I was finally going…. Home. As I said that, a smile crept up my face.

I saw Kakashi by side giving me a look that showed that he was proud of me. I looked in front of me and saw Mr. Nekozuka. "Thank you," I whispered before I turned and took off running. I felt Kakashi soon following me and soon was by my side. "How long will it take for us to get there?" I asked between my breaths. "Three days…. But we could cut that in half if you want to race," he suggested.

I gave him a sly smile and stopped on a branch. "Turn around," I ordered as I quickly stripped to my underwear then shape-shifted into my wolf form. I held my clothes between my teeth and communicated with him within our minds.

"_You ready?_" I asked.

"On your mark," he started. "Get set…" he lingered. "Go!" he said as he basically teleported himself ahead with his speed.

_So we're gonna play like that now, are we…_ I thought as I smiled a wolfish grin and ran with all my might.

As Kakashi had predicted, we were halfway there within a day. After all of the running, I basically passed out as soon as we got to a clearing. Before I fell back to sleep, I stared at the starry night and the last thought that went through my mind was "_I'm going home…_"

Shikamaru's POV

I opened my eyes to see that the sun was out and my alarm clock didn't go off. I stared at my ceiling in boredom for a few seconds until I heard the irritating ringing of the clock.

"I actually went out of my way to set the alarm last night, and I wake up before it went off. I don't even feel like getting up to turn it off," I sighed in irritation. "But I can't deal with this stupid ringing forever. Thinking about all of this is so troublesome!" I shouted as chucked a pillow at the clock and put one over my head to muffle the sound.

As normal, the chucked pillow didn't knock over the alarm clock so it was still ringing horrendously. I sighed as my shoulders slumped and I was forced to get out of bed to turn off the clock.

"I guess I should take a shower while I'm up…" I sighed. "What a drag."

I got myself ready and lazily walked downstairs for breakfast. I saw my dad smoking his cigarette at the table while reading a newspaper. "You know mom's going to kill you for that, right?"

His father tore his attention away from the article and gave me a shrug. "Who cares. She's still sleeping," he said as he flipped a page.

As soon as he said that, footsteps were heard and they paused. "Shikaku! Put out that cigarette! You know you're not supposed to smoke in **my** kitchen," she strictly said. Shikaku quickly put out his cigarette and buried himself in the article to avoid getting yelled at by my mom.

I sighed in slight disappointment. "No balls whatsoever," I mumbled to myself. "What was that, Shikamaru?" I heard my mom ask in a malicious manner. "Nothing, mother" I replied scared.

_How frightening…_ I thought as I saw my mom's mood quickly change to a happy one.

I sighed as I left the house and went to go meet up with Kiba and Choji at the park. I took my time getting there, not feeling rushed whatsoever. And saw Kiba struggling to get some chips from Choji who was indulging himself into a bag already.

"Yo," I lamely said.

Kiba quickly forgot his goal to get a chip and gave my a doggish grin. "Today's the day, my man! Yami's finally getting her ass over here!"

I smirked a bit, feeling happy that our friend for well over two years was coming home.

"You guys better hurry up then 'cuz it's already eight. Didn't Kakashi told you to be there at seven thirty?" Choji asked in the midst of shoving his face with chips.

"Yeah, but the baka is always late for everything," I said, knowing that we weren't late at all. "Come on. I guess we should start heading there," I said with a sigh.

We walked there slowly as I gazed at the morning clouds. Choji was already on his second bags of chips and Kiba distracted himself with playing with Akamaru.

I cringed at the thought of his insanely big dog. We didn't get along so well for some reason. As I continued to walk, I noticed that Kiba suddenly stopped. He lifted his chin and sniffed the air. A smile shone on his face and he quickly climbed on Akamaru. "She's here!" he shouted as he rode Akamaru to the gates.

I was almost tempted to run, but I decided to just speed up my pace…slightly.

"She must be pretty awesome for you to even speed up," Choji joked with a smile.

I looked to the side and caught his smile and gave him a smirk. "I'll introduce you two. I'm sure you'll like her," I reassured him.

Kiba's POV

I was ridding on Akamaru's back in excitement as I grinned with the feeling of an adrenalin rush going through my body. I saw the gates slowly open and saw Kakashi's gray hair then purple hair.

_YAMI!!!_ I thought, as I jumped off of Akamaru and ran to glomp her. I saw her expression change to shock to sudden happiness as I tackled her to the floor with a hug.

"Kiba! Akamaru!" she laughed as I picked her up and twirled her around as Akamaru tried licking her face. I set her back on the floor and took a good look at her. I couldn't help but smirk once I said " So you **did** grow a cup."

After that, I soon felt a smack on my head. I cradled my head in pain as she went to give Shikamaru a hug. "Awww! Shika! You're smiling, how cute!" she teased him as she hugged him. Shikamaru turned to the side, trying to hide his blush. She looked up and breathed in deep as she smelled Konoha. I went up to her and gave her a hug from the back. "Smells like home, eh?" I whispered in her ear as I deepened my hug.

"It really does…" she managed to say while noticeably holding back her tears. I was sure she felt my grin against her neck as I lifted her off the ground and twirled her around some more.

"Time to meet the family, now!" I proudly announced as I dragged her towards Akamaru.

"Your mother is nearly as troublesome as mine," I heard Shikamaru say with my acute hearing.

"You're telling me," I mumbled as I finally let go of Yami.

"Aww come on, guys. She cannot be that bad," said Yami, filled with confidence.

_Don't say that I didn't warn you,_ I thought, dreading our arrival at my house.

As we were walking to my house, Shikamaru finally and formally introduced Choji to Yami.

"Yami, this is Akimichi, Choji," Shikamaru said as he was gesturing to his best friend. "And Choji, this is Ookami, Yami. You've met her a couple of years back. Don't really know if you two remember each other though…"

Yami gave Choji a polite smile and shook his hand. "It's very nice to see you again, Choji. Although, I'm sure I've seen you before I left," she said with a smile.

"Same here," Choji offered with a smile. He reached into his bag of chips and grabbed a handful of salted potato chips. "Do you mind if I have some?" she asked timidly. Choji looked at the bag of goodies and thought it over as if he were calculating how much chips were left. "Sure," he agreed after a moment of consideration. He shoved the bag towards her direction and let her take a handful.

By the time we knew it, we were in front of the Inuzuka residence. I took a sniff and knew that my mom and sister were home. I opened the door and went in, leaving the door open for the guys to come in.

"Hana! Mom! She's here," I shouted, making sure they both heard. I noticed Yami unsurely coming in as if she was expecting to be attacked… and she was right. My mother stealthily attacked her by the side with a hug and twirled her around.

"Wolf girl! How you doin'?" she said, twirling Yami around as I had done so earlier.

"I'm so dizzy," Yami replied after she was placed on the ground. My mom laughed hard, figuring that I had done the same to her earlier. "That's my boy," she said, roughly ruffling my hair.

"Oh, Yami. It's great to finally meet you," I soon heard my sister say. She went up to Yami and gave her sisterly hug. "Come over in the back, Yami. Kuromaru has to get used to your scent," declared my mom in a boisterous tone. Kuromaru was her nin-dog. He was missing his left ear and wore an eye-patch over his right eye. He always held a wolfish appearance but I never bothered to ask whether or not he was.

He looked at my purple-haired friend almost suspiciously. He sniffed her, circled around her, and bowed…submissively? He looked up at her for one last time before he left the room. I saw my mother eying Kuromaru suspiciously, but she quickly let it go. She gave off a doggish grin and laughed at Shikamaru's uncomfortable expression.

"Still afraid of me, Nara?" she asked cockily. He furrowed his brow and stayed silent while gaining an overwhelming feeling to stuff his hands into his pockets and stare into a corner. She smiled at his reaction and left the room while saying, "You kids have fun showing Yami around!"

Hana laughed softly. She was always the calm, studious one of the family, which explained why she was a medical nin. She turned to Yami and gave her a bow, "You're always welcomed here, alright?"

"And Shikamaru," she added in. "You should try smiling a bit more. Bye, Choji." And with that, we were left in the room by ourselves.

"Wow," Yami said in amazement. "Your sister's nice, but your mom is awesome," she said with a grin. "I think she might have nearly scared Shikamaru to an early death," she laughed out. "She did the same with my dad," I couldn't help but mumble under my breath.

"Oh, shut it," she giggled, shoving me. "So where are we going to? Choji? How about you lead me to Ichikaru's stand? With those awesome chips, I know you must have good taste in food," she moaned, rubbing her stomach. "I haven't had **food** in years!"

Choji frowned dramatically, looking at his new-found friend in pity. "You're kidding right?"

She tilted her head towards his direction and gave him a stare that affirmed his fear. A noticeable chill went through Choji as he continued to anxiously eat his chips. "We're going **now**," urgently said Choji.

We were walking to Ichikaru's stand in a near-hurried pace. Choji managed to get ahead of us because Shikamaru refused to hurry up and ordered in advance for us. "I got you beef," he told Yami, "and I got you chicken flavored," he told me. "Do you mind?" he asked, making sure to not give us something we hated.

I shook my head, not really caring what I ate, and petted Akamaru's head. "Wait," I said, "Isn't Shikamaru eating anything?"

Shikamaru already shook his head, saying that it was a drag to eat Ramen so early in the morning. I shrugged him off, getting used to his laziness and eagerly sat by Yami. Choji then pointed something out that made me somewhat uncomfortable at first. "She's only been here for like an hour and you already look like her boyfriend, Kiba."

I scooted away from Yami, not wanting her to be uncomfortable and awkwardly asked, "I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?" She looked at me very innocently and shook her head.

Shikamaru then managed to explain the situation to Choji. "You see, Choji. Kiba has always been a pervert, but now he can express it now that he has a girl who's a friend so he doesn't look like a womanizer."

"You're way too lazy to be this smart," Yami said as the bowls of Ramen were placed in front of us. The smell was nearly teasing as I had a bowl of Ramen for a while, but when I looked to the side, I knew that the food was torturing Yami. She was literally looking at the bowl as if it were a masterpiece while drooling.

She hesitantly took the chopsticks and broke them apart while saying her thanks to Ichikaru's owner, Teuchi. She took her first bite of the noodles. She slurped it all up and calmly put the chopsticks at the side of her bowl. Slowly she got up and off the chair, and fell to her knees **crying**.

"That is so amazing!" she wailed, shaking her fist in the air. She quickly got back up and started stuffing her face with ramen. At first, it seemed like she was competing with Choji, but you could plainly tell that she was enjoying the taste rather than forcing it down her throat.

When she was done, she leaned back onto the chair and let her head fall back. "That…." she took a deep breath. "Was amazing."

"Damn, Yami," I said, chuckling. "You look like you just finished havin' an orgasm. Which I must say, is pretty hot," I said, smirking as I was slowly sliding my hand up her thigh. She looked at me with a tired look and slapped me hard on the cheek.

I tried soothing the pain on it by rubbing it, but it only seemed to make it worse. She gave Choji a brilliant smile and hugged the living crap out of him.

Choji gave her a nervous smile and said, "I thought you were going to empty my wallet. I'm actually shocked that you only had one bowl."

She shook her head and held a serious face, " No, no, no, no. I wouldn't take advantage of a free lunch. I'm happy with what I'm given."

"Cheer up," she said when she saw me rubbing my sore cheek. I noticed Shikamaru pay Teuchi and order another bowl of Ramen for Yami. She held a face of shock when another bowl was placed in front of her. She looked at Teuchi and he tilted his head towards Shikamaru, who hid in embarrassment.

Yami smiled warmly and thanked Shikamaru. He just mumbled a 'no problem' and glared at me for snickering at how uncomfortable he seemed.

Yami quietly finished her Ramen as Shikamaru and I joked about Ino, the blonde chatterbox. I pitied him for being in the same group as such… a jealous blonde. Even **with** Sasuke gone, Sakura and Ino still fought like little school girls. Now, they were pointlessly fighting over Neji, Hinata's cousin.

They didn't even **like** the guy. They just fought over him for the sake of keeping such an odd "friendship".

As Yami was getting into our conversation, learning of the new relationships in Konoha, Kakashi popped out of nowhere.

"Hello, boys. I trust you're treating Yami fairly?" he asked, completely out of character. "Treating Yami fairly?" she asked, seeing the odd behavior.

He rolled his eyes at her, completely ignoring her question. "Yami, I need you to come with me for a little bit. Family business," he simply said. When he mentioned 'family business', Yami held a serious glint in her eyes. She gave us a reassuring smile, "I'll be back later, right Kakashi-sensei?"

He shook his head, "This will be an all-day'er."

Her shoulders slumped as she pouted at him, "no fair…" she mumbled. "Can I see you guys tomorrow?" she asked, but then realized something.

"Wait, where am I staying? Where's my bag?" the words flew out of her mouth.

"You left your bag at the gates when you were dragged away by Kiba. I have it at my house," he said. "I'm so sorry for making you carry my bag," she apologized with such a high pitched tone.

"It's fine," he said, shaking his head. "Kiba, I asked your mother if she would offer Yami a place to stay temporarily. She said yes, but that you would have to go home **now** to clean up your room because you're going to be the one to sleep on the floor."

My mouth dropped and I heard Akamaru snicker at my situation. I glared at him to shut him up and gave off a heavy sigh. "Whatever."

Yami's uncovered eyebrow rose in question as she said, "Is it me or are you sounding like Shika?"

Shikamaru glared at her, but then stopped once he gave off a heavy sigh, and his shoulders slumped. Shikamaru and I both looked at each other, noticing the similar reaction, and glared at each other before turning our backs.

Choji and Yami laughed at our reactions. I ran my fingers through my messy hair and shrugged the moment off.

Yami's POV

I waved them goodbye and followed Kakashi to a very… dead part of the town. It reminded me of where the Uchiha clan used to reside in.

"Kakashi-sensei… where are we?" I asked my question nearly sounding like a mutter.

"Yami. Nekozuka-sensei sent you back to discover yourself. **This** is your history…" he said.

This part of town was well hidden. To get to here, there were many memorized turns to take. The homes seemed abandoned and the road was dusty and unused. It didn't seem inhabitable, but as if families migrated from the town.

Kakashi stopped in front of an enormous building. By the roof, there was a sign titled 'Okami Knowledge'.

Kakashi passed the grand doors that were already opened and walked ahead till he reached a wide table with an ancient book spread open to be read.

He gestured towards be to sit on the chair with his hands and ran his fingers through his hair as if preparing himself for something important.

"Yami… have you ever wondered as to why your last name as an extra 'o' while your clan name is simply Okami?" he asked, as if it were an introduction to his point.

I thought of the times where I've written my last name and teachers would often misspell my name by erasing an 'o' because of my clans name.

"The Okami clan is a clan founded by very special wolves- Wolves that seemed to have been far more intelligent than any other. The main wolf was called Jyu-sanbi. It was often wondered as to why a wolf would be called 'thirteen tails'. One day, she grew to be more powerful and wiser, she physically changed as the twin tailed beasts tend to do," he started explaining.

"The First Hokage had a cousin who was deeply intrigued by these wolves who somehow help found Konohagukare and trained them, thus explaining how the wolves became nin-wolves. The history of the clan is rather short, but so… eventful. Due to Jyu-sanbi's intelligence and mystical powers, she was given the title as 'the Great Ookami'," he gave off a sigh.

"When other countries were being attacked by tailed-beasts, the clan grew worried. Jyu-sanbi still existed, despite her age, but was never found or seen as a creature with such respect generally is. She grew worried for the safety of her clan and accepted an idea of the scientist. To bring forth a child with the powers of a tailed beast. But to do so, a child would need to be born with the powers of the most tamed tailed beast of all, Jyu-sanbi," he declared.

"With the determination to protect her clan, she agreed to whatever cost there was. Then…. You were born," he stopped himself to see my reaction. I was deeply confused to the relation.

"The scientist at first wanted to take part of Jyu-sanbi's soul and fuse it to yours, but ended up taking all of Jyu-sanbi's soul and fusing it with yours. Her anger at the mistake grew into you and her soul could not be calmed. You grew to be a very respected child and because of your relations with Jyu-sanbi, your last name is 'Ookami'."

"Do you remember when…Zabuza, the mist assassin, seemed to recognize you?"

I thought hard on that day and suddenly remembered.

_"What are you doing?! Run! The outcome of this battle was decided when I got caught!" yelled Kakashi. "Our mission is to protect Tazuna-san."_

_"I don't mind. Fight all you want," said Tazuna, not being selfish at all, but wanting the sensei to be safe._

_"__**When I was your age, my hands were already soaked in blood**__," he smirked evilly. "__**Seems like your friend can relate**__," he cruelly laughed._

_My heart started beating louder and louder and louder. It was getting hard to breathe. Why was it getting harder to breathe? I gasped for a breath as a quick blurry thought came in my mind._

_--_

_"She doesn't have to remember anything. It'll be as if she was pure," a manly voice said. _

_Silence was heard in the darkness. Nothing was clear and I was in pain. _

_"She __**is**__ pure. It's your fault that she ever became like...this," said a motherly voice._

--

"Why are you bringing this up…" I asked very meekly. I felt a sudden, unexplainable fear rush over me. I felt my emotions numb at an alarming rate.

"Yami… do you remember your past at all?" he asked, making me feel more frightened. I shook my head, feeling overwhelmed by the urge of running away.

I remembered the oldest memory I held, and how deeply I cherished it.

__________________________________________

_I felt as if I had woken up. I remembered my name. I think it was my name. Ookami, Yami?_ How old am I?_ I childishly thought. _

_I felt the rain plummet on my head and my hair closely frame my face. I looked down on myself and saw my clothes were tattered. I pointlessly cried out of sheer frustration and hopelessness. "I want my mawmmy," I cried. I felt my legs sink into the mud I laid in. I tried to get up in a haste but ended up falling right back into the sticky mud._

"_I'm scared! Please!" I cried hopelessly. I hid my face in my hands as my ten-year old body was stuck in the mud. I began to cry so hard that my breathing became irregular. Miraculously, a man picked me up. I tried gazing up at him, only to realize that my vision was blocked by my wet hair._

_I stifled my cries and bit my lip as I babyishly attempted to look up at the man._

"_My god you're wet. How long have you been out here?" I heard him say. He cradled my form to hide me from the rain and ran towards shelter. He sat me on the floor as he put a jacket over me. I suddenly felt an urge to reach into my pocket. As I did, I felt a piece of a folded paper and pulled it out. I unfolded them and attempted to read them, but couldn't because I barely could read many words at the my shaken state. I looked up and gave it to the man who had his back to me. _

_As soon as he turned around a raindrop fell into my eye blurring my vision. I still held out the paper for him which he gladly took once he noticed. When I was finally able to blink my vision back to clarity, the paper he was holding blocked his face from my view._

_I sniffed and wiped my tears away, before I had a chance to look up and see my savior's face, he picked me up. The only thing I could now see was his chin and his hair. I think it was gray, but perhaps I was mistaken._

"_Go to sleep…" he said as he brought my body closer to his. I fell asleep to the feel of his body warmth._

_I woke up the next day in a room very unfamiliar to myself. I felt very groggy and dazed as I attempted to sit up. I gained a headache from my try and was very slowly pushed back to the bed. When I looked up, I saw a man with brown hair. Oddly, he held a very paternal and maternal gaze. I noticed a scar that was above his nose and held his hair in a ponytail. I guess that he noticed my confused expression and quickly introduced himself to me. "Hello, young one. My name is Umino, Iruka. I'm a teacher here in Konoha."_

_I looked at him in confusion as tears framed my young eyes. "Where am I," I uttered._

_He bit his lips in sorrow and gave me a stare I couldn't forget. "You're home," he replied to me._

"_But… I don't remember anything!" I wailed childishly. I felt so emotionally horrible as if I had taken a life or seen the wrongs of all my doings._

"_It's okay," he comforted me as he hugged my small form. "Did you…save me?" I asked, embarrassed of the tears that were flowing freely on my cheeks. He gave me a small frown and shook his head. "You were brought and sent here by the Hokage… I'm afraid I don't know who did."_

_I sniffled and thought to myself, _I'll never know his name now…. But I know his voice…

"_Do I have a family?" I asked so pointlessly lost._

_He looked at me with more sorrow in his heart then he sadly shook his head._

___________________________________________

I shook my head as if to get rid of the sudden memory. "Yami… when Jyu-sanbi's soul was placed within you, her anger took over your heart… you were possessed by a darker side of her that could not be tamed. Because, as you know, souls do not rest in peace unless their problems are resolved… and that would never happen in Jyu-sanbi's case…."

"Why are you telling me this," I snapped, feeling overwhelmed.

"Yami… the reason you've never taken a deep interest in your family history, it's because Jyu-sanbi didn't think you were ready to understand it your own past. Her emotions can affect yours. But now, it is time," he said, giving me a hard look with his uncovered eye. "Yami, by the age of eight, you left your clan to travel to go find tailed beast. Your travel was long and for a while…you were considered a missing-nin. The Hokage understood your situation and sent many men to find you. But before they could find you…" he lingered, as if attempting to find strength. "You were attacked by highly dangerous nin-thieves. Thirteen to be specific… Yami… you managed to kill them all."

My heart skipped a beat. I looked at him with such fear and shock.

"These thieves were not low-class thieves… they've been wanted for over five years and killed hundreds… when you were found… it was said that blood covered your mouth and hands and you had this bestial look in your eyes. Your clan figured a way to calm the beast, but that would cost your memory…"

"Your father was the very scientist who suggested the idea of fusing her soul with yours and found the way to calm Jyu-sanbi… You have a tattoo on the back of you neck. The mark on your neck has a large quantity of chakra within it."

"The Okami clan saw you as their Lady or alpha. When you lost your memory, Jyu-sanbi was thought to be lost too… the clan went into a fit of fury, and went to find a new alpha… The new alpha was very religious and blamed your parents for 'killing' the Great Ookami… he forcibly made the soldiers kill your father and mother… because as you should know… no sane wolf would harm a member of their pack… the new alpha is very powerful and influential. He forced the clan to migrate away from Konoha despite the laws of the Hokage… The alpha's name is Kohaku, Kuri…" he finished.

I looked at him in plain astonishment. I felt betrayal and anger because of my clan's alpha. Had they just plainly left me to die in the rain?

I looked up at Kakashi-sensei and bit my lip out of nervousness. How could I react to this?

"Is this why I have to be careful with my emotions?" I meekly asked.

He simply nodded his head then came forward to me. I stood still as a statue and looked to the floor. He calmly engulfed me in a comforting hug.

My hands were still at my sides currently clinching the blood away from them. I tried my best to keep my emotions bottled up, resulting to my whole body shivering. Without much success, I broke down crying and hugged Kakashi while tugging at his clothing to keep myself upright.

_I've taken a life…_ I thought as tears slid down my cheek. As I sniffed away and held my tears in, my sadness gradually turned into anger. _Kohaku, Kuri_, I maliciously thought. He took what was mine away. A growl escaped my throat as revenge boiled in my blood. Kakashi seemed to have felt the sudden change of emotions and spoke out loud, "Stop it."

I shook out of shock at the sudden stern tone in his voice. I looked up at him to meet his gaze to see that he was staring right behind me. I slowly turned my head in wonder and saw the ghostly figure of Jyu-sanbi.

She was…thrice as big as she was last time. Her thirteen tails swung around violently as the hairs on her neck and back stood erect. She snarled viciously and held a crazed look in her ice blue eyes.

"_Kohaku, Kuri,_" she snarled in my head. I clung to Kakashi-sensei in fear of her delirious anger and hatred that radiated off of her.

"Seal her back in," he ordered to me. I look at him with a sudden confusion. How was I suppose to do this? I opened my mouth to ask him but he simply deepened his glare in haste.

"How?" I questioned with my voice straining in panic. How was **I **supposed to do this?!

"Calm her down. Talk to her. You're the only one who can do this right now," he said, not taking off his gaze of Jyu-sanbi who was inching closer to us.

I took in a deep breath and quickly let go of Kakashi-sensei's shirt. Calm her down?

"_Jyu-sanbi, I command you to calm down_," I ordered through our thoughts. She stopped growling, but snapped at me with her monstrous jaws. I felt a sudden rush in confidence as if I knew what to do.

"_Jyu-sanbi, as your __**master**__ I command you to calm down,_" she stopped her actions and sat down, but still glared at me with anger. My mood softened as I promised her, "_I swear to you I will get your clan back from him"_

Ghostly-looking shackled came from my chest and handcuffed her paws, neck, and muzzle. She sat there carefully and somehow was dragged back right into me. I took in a deep breath once I felt that she was sealed within me once more.

"How did you do it?" Kakashi-sensei asked me. "I made her a promise I intend to keep," I simply replied.

I ran my hand through my hair and let out a sigh. Today was somewhat of a tiring day. "I can go now, right?" I tiredly inquired. He simply nodded his head as he followed my figure walking out of the building and back to Kiba's home.


	16. Chapter 16

I walked home feeling traces of anger in my heart. My nose twitched as I wondered how difficult it must be for Jyu-sanbi to calm down. Her whole family was forced to betray her and leave her for dead.

I don't think I could even began to imagine how that must have felt with my memory long gone.

I stopped in the middle of the road and paid attention to my surroundings. The moon was full and the stars were shining brilliantly. A silent wind went through my hair and eased my tension. I walked past Ichikaru's ramen bar and noticed blond, spiked hair that caught my attention. I stared at it deeply and walked on, ignoring my urges to see if it were Naruto. No need to get my hopes crushed.

I walked a little faster to get as far as possible from the ramen stand and rushed to Kiba's house. It was nearly nine at night and I did not want to give Kiba's mother, Tsume, a bad impression on my first day.

I let the rhythm of my breathing distract my mind because every living cell in my body was yelling at me for not facing that person at the ramen stand.

I soon began running as quick as I could to the Inuzuka household and soon found myself at the familiar doorstep. I knocked on it briefly and waited to see that Kiba answered the door. He was wearing stripped red and black boxers with a silver paw print in the bottom.

I eyed his underwear briefly before looking up and realizing he was shirtless and enjoying every moment of it. I rolled my eyes and shook my head as I told him, "I really don't know how we became friends. You are such a closet case pervert."

He laughed it off and opened the door wider as an invitation. "Hope you don't mind," he briefly said. "I like to walk in my boxers. I can put on a shirt if you'd like?" he offered. I shrugged it off, not really caring as long as he had some sort of bottoms on. "Where's my bag?" I asked. He tilted his head towards the hall as a suggestion for me to follow me.

He led the way as he gave me a tour of the house. "There's the kitchen, and over here's the bathroom. This is my mom's room and across from her is Hana's room. At the end of the hall, is my room."

He opened his door and showed me his dirty white room. It was surprisingly neat with only a couple of tossed clothes on the floor. No dirty dishes lingered on his desk and even though his bed wasn't made, it still couldn't be considered messy.

His room held a wooden floor with the mattress on the floor. The bed had no legs and was covered with a boyish red and white cover. His two pillows were black and fluffed. By the side of the bed, there was a low nightstand that held a lamp and team photo. Across the bed lied a glossy, black dresser. It was pretty plain with the exceptions scattered papers on top of it.

I looked around his room, feeling the homeliness within it. I walked towards his bed and sat on it with a jump. I bounced up a few times as Kiba stared at me casually. He briefly pointed to the side of the bed/mattress and showed me a sleeping bag. "I'll be sleeping right there."

I frowned in a silly manner, wondering of Kiba's mom's morals. I had always heard stories about how moms never let their kids sleep with the opposite sex in the same room. _Of course I wouldn't know such a thing._

At the very end of my thoughts, Tsume appeared at the doorway in a robe. She messed with her hair and gave me a wolfish grin. "Yeah… I'm not really used to this sort of things. Kiba never brings girls around. To tell you the truth, I was wondering a bit about his preference," she joked, eying him down. "But you don't mind, do you? I could put you with Hana if you'd like."

I shook my head and gave her a smile. "I'm fine. I swear. Everything's great here," I smiled at her. She looked at me, relieved at my comfortable state. She waved us off as she headed to her room. Kiba headed towards the door and closed it, then went for his sleeping bag. As I was sitting at the edge of the bed, I watched as he struggled and eventually nestled into his sleeping bag. "Night, Yami," he mumbled, sounding drowsy. "So soon?" I asked him. Kiba always gave me the impression of a night person rather than an early bird.

"I rather stay up, but these days, if I do, I'll regret it," he mumbled before drifting into sleep with a light snore.

I twitched my nose, slightly disappointed that he had gone to bed so early. I sighed as I got up and went to find my bag. I found it and brought out all of the necessaries: toothbrush, shorts, tank top, and underwear. Silently, I grabbed all of my items in hand, and ventured around the house to find the bathroom.

Once I had found it, I took myself a warm shower and got ready for bed. I bit my lip and remembered I was thirsty as I headed for the kitchen. As if not to disturb anything, I left the kitchen unlit and found a glass and some water. My lips became dry at the sound of pouring water, and I drank it greedily. I felt a familiar presence behind me and turned around to meet Kuromaru, Kiba's mother's companion.

He gave me a bow as I placed my glass down. "If you do not know, I'm part wolf and dog. I'm honored to be in the presence of **both** you," he said as his eye shown in the dark. "Ookami, Yami and Jyu-sanbi, The Great Okami."

My eyes widened as a question rushed into my head. _How does he know?_

"_Fear not, young one. Members and cousins of our clans can well detect us if we choose not to hide our scent. I am well over one hundred years old. My scent is far more unique than most,_" Jyu-sanbi explained to me. Yet, I still had the urge to ask Kuromaru.

"How did you know that she was the one within me?" I meekly ask, not daring to speak too loud.

"The Inuzuka is a cousin of the Okami clan. I would shame my elders if I were not to know of my history," he simply explain in his usual deep voice.

I thought of his reply questionably. "_Don't they worship Inu? How are they related to you, Jyu-sanbi?_" I asked the tailed beast. "_Inu is a cousin of mine as dogs are to wolves_" she simply replied in our thoughts.

As I looked at Kuromaru's submissive like form, I asked aloud without quite thinking, "Why do you bow to me?" My heart skipped when those words escaped my mouth. Kuromaru was indeed part wolf, but he was also half dog. What if my question insulted his loyalty to his clan?

"To explain this in _your (human)_ terms," he said with a shining glint in his left eye. "You are like royalty. And even if you are not **our** queen, you must be respected with the utmost respect."

He looked at me with a certain seriousness that froze my muscles. As I stared into his gaze, I suddenly knew that he wasn't looking at me anymore. He was gazing at Jyu-sanbi herself.

"If ever you're in need, Jyu-sanbi…" he said, lowering his head. He looked up with a hard stare, "The Inuzuka **is** here"

With that, Kuromaru seemed to have faded into the shadows with his one eye left glowing for a second, then morphing into the dark also.

As I was left alone in the dark, I thought of the situation. If Kuromaru, companion of a tokubetsu jonin (special high ninja), is so loyal/submissive to Jyu-sanbi… then how powerful is she?

I bit my lip out of nervousness as I was starting to comprehend what was within me. What I trained for years to control. What could easily escape my control. What I could be killed for.

I rubbed the back of my neck at the tattoo my parents left on me to control Jyu-sanbi's anger. But what if it were to come off?

That question left a ripple of shiver run down across my back.

I thought back to when Kakashi was telling me of my family's history and how Jyu-sanbi's anger appeared in the library. Her size had tripled and she had shown herself without my permission. If **that**'s her 'controlled', then how angry was she truly?

I shook the thoughts out of my head in a hurry and headed off to bed. I used my stealth not to wake Kiba up and snuggled myself into a light sleep. With everything in my head right now, it'd be impossible to get a nice, rested sleep.

As soon as I closed my eyes, I opened them to find that it was morning already. My heart beat was fast and Kiba was over me with a worried look on his face. I tried thinking as to why I felt so worried and saw flashes of Naruto in my thoughts. His face was drenched in tears as he was being held back by one the Kyuubi's tails as I simply walked off, forced not to look back (as if my neck was paralyzed).

As I recalled my dream, I managed to calm myself down and take in my surroundings. "Kiba, why am I waking up to you staring at me," I grumbled tiredly.

"Well, I woke up to you freaking out. So we're even," he countered. "Smartass," I mumbled to myself, burying my face into the pillow. I took a second to unbury my face and looked at the clock at the bedside shining '5:49 A.M.' "Whyyyyyy are we up so early? Go back to sleep," I said, still sounding like a grumble. "I wish," he said, massaging his temples. "Why don't you just,"-_do it_, I was about to say until Tsume burst into the room and scared me half to death, screaming "Time for training!"

I jumped out of my skin and fell on the side of the bed, right on top of where Kiba had gone back to sitting on. I felt Kiba's body under mine and freaked out even more and ended up falling off of him too.

I lied on the floor with an achy head and stared at the ceiling. "Mom! It was her first night here and you killed her!" shouted Kiba, waving his hands in front of my face. "Yami?" Tsume asked, appearing behind him. She gave him a smack on the head and gave me a grin. "She's fine. She ain't a wimp like you," she joked with a laugh.

He gave her a pout and crossed his arms. "Whatever," he mumbled under his breath.

I lied on the floor, listening to my heart rate slow down. I heard Kiba give off a low sigh. "I'm malmight," I mumbled. Tsume grinned her doggish grin and crouched down to pat me in the back. "You'll survive. Now get up," she barked. She left the room and left Kiba and I in the momentous peace and quiet.

"I told you you'd regret it if you didn't sleep early," Kiba sighed, scratching his head. "Whyyyyyyy," I whined.

"I already told you. Training," he replied tiredly. I looked at him, annoyed at the whole situation and got up. Kiba stood behind me and started pushing me towards the kitchen. "Food," he complained.

I blindly sat down on the chair and saw a plate of breakfast goodness placed in front of me. I grabbed my fork and took my first bite of real food. Tsume had made us pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, and just about everything I missed eating over the years of my isolation.

I teared, eating all my food. Tsume had asked me a couple of times whether or not if I was okay. Kiba already knew my deprivation of good food and laughed every time his mom worried over me. Eventually, **everything** was eaten. A smile grew on my face as I enjoyed the feeling of being full. I gave out a stretch and leaned back on the chair. "So what's on the agenda today, Kiba?"

"I already told you, baka. Training," snapped Kiba.

I rolled my eyes at the tone of his voice. "I meant… are we gonna do something afterwards? Who are training with? Jeez. Can't you leave me details?"

He rolled his eyes at me and leaned his head in his hands. "We're gonna trained with Hinata and Shino. I guess afterwards we can go to Ichiraku's Ramen Bar…" he suggested.

"Coolies! Let's get ready then," I announced. I was due for some fun and training. Plus, it'd be nice to meet new people…or people I don't remember all that well.

Kiba and I got ready at the speed of light. I mean… at first it was just a "hey let's get ready quickly" sorta thing, but then it evolved into a "I bet I can beat you" thing.

Kiba and I raced out the door with Akamaru sitting on the floor, looking at us dumbfounded. _I swear my owner's an idiot,_ the dog thought solemnly.

A couple of minutes afterwards, Kiba and I made a dramatically loud entrance at the Hyuga estates. Hinata and Shino were sitting peacefully on the ground until we came. I ran at full speed towards Hinata and Shino until Kiba dove in for my legs, making me trip. I caught myself on my hands and proceeded on dragging myself forward with Kiba attempting to drag me down. We grunted and cursed as we tried to win this untitled race. I tried kicking him the face but he evaded and shoved my face on the ground and ran ahead.

"YES!" he shouted, swinging his fist in the air. "In your face!" He gloated, pointing his finger at me. I sighed with my face on the ground. _My second day in Konoha in 4 years and my ass is already on the ground…_

Hinata blushed furiously and scolded Kiba in her own quiet manner. "Kiba. Calm down," she whispered. Shino came up to me and helped me up. "Shoving a lady's face onto the floor? And you wonder why you can't get a proper girlfriend," mumbled Shino.

Kiba crossed his arms and pouted furiously, his moment of gloating now gone.

I got up with the help of Shino and wiped the dirt from my face. I looked up in slight recognition at the quiet boy and girl. Shino had his hair spiked still as I faintly remembered and continued to wear those round glasses. Hinata had those pale Hyuga eyes and her hair was longer… I think…

Shino looked at me with a sternness and bowed in front of me. "Greetings. My name is Aburame, Shino. You already know Kiba. And this is Hyuga, Hinata. This is Team 8. Who might you be?"

Kiba rolled his eyes at Shino's formalness and continued to periodically glance at Hinata blushing. "I'm Ookami, Yami. I was formerly in Team 7."

"Team 7?" he questioned. His covered face completely remained unreadable.

He bowed once more then said, "I'm sorry for your lost of your teammate, Uchiha, Sasuke."

I just sadly smiled and said "Thank you," in response.

I looked at Hinata to introduce myself to find that she had hidden herself behind Kiba. Kiba noticed my stare and at that moment noticed she was behind him. He took a step to the side to reveal her and gave her a small nudge. "Hel-l-lo. I'm Hi-hi-hi-nata," she horribly stuttered. I smiled at her shyness and gave her a wave. Kiba casually put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze as he teased her. "She's **really** shy if you didn't notice," he chuckled.

Hinata held her hands to her lap as she looked down and blushed three shades of red. Kiba gave her a small smile at her reaction and let go of her.

"Let's begin our training," announced Shino in his tiny, monotonic voice.

Shino looked us over a few times and asked Hinata. "Do you think it'll be appropriate if Kiba and Yami combated with each other?"

Her blushing severed, but she meekly agreed. "Well then," he began. "Fight…now"

Kiba got into his fighting stance as I got into mine. We both deviously smiled at each other. I heard him say to Akamaru, "Buddy. We're not goin' easy on this one."

My pupils dilated a little bit as I got into my fighting mode. We stood still for five seconds until we both broke out and moved quicker than a blink of an eye. I hid in the trees the Hyuga's added in their training facilities. I stalked Kiba as if he were my prey and quickly launched at him with my "Howling Wolf" jutsu. It was headed for Akamaru but I knew he'd defend his partner. He took the hit and mumbled under his breath, "What a cheap trick."

I smirked at him, unknown to him, but it fell off when he did his move.

"Beast Human Clone!" he shouted. Akamaru then transformed himself into an exact replica of Kiba. They both smelled the same and everything!

The Kiba clone immediately detected me and started throwing shurikens at me. I dodged the ninja stars and quickly passed by them with a few hits into another spot. I got a few punches in and managed to dodge all of theirs. But after that, a seriously look grew on their faces.

"Four leg techniques," ordered Kiba. A chakra grew around them both, and they both fell on all fours. They moved faster and looked bestial. Kiba ran towards me up front while the Kiba clone ran towards me from the back, and they both tackled me hard to the floor.

I got up a started throwing my kunais at him and he dodged them all. It went on like this for a while until Shino told us to stop. We both stood panting, looking at each other with determination, until we both fell onto the floor and Akamaru transformed to his old self, panting like the dog he is.

Hinata clapped her hands enthused and complimented us on the fight. Of course when I looked at her, shocked that she would be so not timid, she went back to her blushing faze. And again, I notice Kiba looking at her with a soft smile.

"Damn. I'm pooped," announced Kiba. The area grew quiet, and I broke it with a question that was on everyone's mind. "Pooped?"

His eyes widened the slightest and he gave out a heavy sigh. "I said 'pooped', didn't I?"

I stayed on the floor and laughed whole heartedly at him. He got up and dusted himself in anger as usual. Hinata tried suppressing a giggle while Shino stayed as quiet as usual. "Let's go to Ichikaru's already," he demanded. I slowed on my laughing and agreed with a nod.

Hinata walked on forward, knowing the exact location of the Ramen stand as Shino and I blindly followed. "Is it only I? Or do you also notice the loving gazes your friend sends to the shy one," asked Shino very casually. I looked up at him for a second, then turned my attention on Kiba and Hinata. Hinata was oblivious but Kiba did look at her very differently. "I think you're right…" I mumbled.

The ramen bar soon came into view then I saw blond hair.

My heart thumped loudly and Hinata stopped as soon as I.

_Naruto…_ we both thought in unison.

Kiba frowned a bit at Hinata's reaction, but then brought his attention to the blond. "Naruto! How've ya been? " he asked happily.

"Nothin much," he said so happily.

My heart thumped louder and faster. Hinata blushed and shivered out of sheer habit around him.

"Hinata, Shino, what's up?" he smiled. "I'm still quite displeased with you for forgetting of my existence, Naruto" said Shino.

He laughed Shino's cold attitude and finally looked at me. The world seemed to have stopped. As we were looking at each other, Kiba sheepishly mentioned "Yeah. Naruto came back two days ago. I'm sorry I forgot to mention it…"

"Hey, boyfriend," said a happy voice. My eyes were torn from Naruto's eyes to…Sakura who was heading straight towards Naruto, then sat by him and held his hands. My sight was glued to their hands and my heart dropped immensely. I gave the best smile I could and said, "Hey, Naruto. Sakura. Nice to see you two again. We'll have to catch up soon. Later,"

I turned my back to both of them and noticed Hinata looked just as heartbroken as I, but I didn't care. I needed… to leave here.

"Yami, wait!" I heard Naruto say, but I started running out of his grasping area, and I ran too far for him to catch up.

_**Naruto's Pov**_

I looked as she ran away from me… I still can't say her name…how pathetic…

I mustered up the best smile I could and looked to the right of me to see my girlfriend. "That was weird, no?" I told her. Her face was filled with shock and she looked at me with a nod. "Definitely… When did she come back?" she asked Kiba.

"Last night," he said slowly. He gave me a small glare, that was nearly unnoticeable then said "Excuse me…" as he ran off to the direction where she went to.

Shino grabbed Hinata's arm and said "If you'll excuse us, Hinata needs to be home at this moment. We'll see you both soon."He led them both away as Hinata looked like she was going to cry.

I sighed a bit and mumbled, "What a weird day"

Sakura looked at me and asked, "Why?"

"You asked me out. Yami comes back. Kiba's mad at me. Shino's mad at me. And Hinata won't even look at me anymore," I sighed. Why did I get such a strange feeling that things were only bound to get worse from here on now. _Did I do something wrong? _Sakura leaned up to me and gave a gentle kiss on the cheek. "No worries, Naruto. All will be well soon," she reassured me. "I can't wait to catch up on with Yami again though. Hasn't it been four (4) years?"

_Yeah…._ I thought solemnly looking at where she was before she ran off. _Four years…._


	17. Chapter 17

_**Yami's Pov**_

I ran and ran until I was back at the Inuzuka house. The house was luckily empty and I fell to the floor and hugged myself as I bit my lip. I chocked back a sob. f"Why did it hurt so much seeing Naruto with her…" I whispered to myself.

_**Kiba's Pov**_

I quickly followed Yami, following her scent and found that she had gone back to my place. The front door was opened and Yami didn't even get halfway in the house. "Why did it hurt so much seeing Naruto with her…" I heard her whimper pathetically.

I sat down next to her and wrapped my arms around her. She immediately nestled into my neck and let me hold her. I frowned at how she felt. I reached for my pocket and texted Shikamaru to come over quickly. Yami didn't even notice my movements or anything. She was just in her own little word. I let out a deep sigh, wishing things didn't go downhill. Why is Naruto so damn blind? _But then again…_ I thought to myself. _She was gone for four years…._

Not even five minutes past by until Shikamaru came in worry. "What's wrong with her?" he asked, for once not sounding too monotonic.

I tilted my head towards the backyard and picked her up to carry her somewhere more comfortable. She wrapped her arms around me and hid her face from the world. She never did like to seem weak.

Shikamaru opened the back door for me and I laid her down onto the grassy floor. Shikamaru and I laid by her both sides and all three of us stared up at the passing clouds. "Is anyone going to tellf me what happened?" Shikamaru asked lamely. I took a short breath and started out, "We saw Naruto today…" Shikamaru looked to side and raised a brow. _Isn't that a good thing?_ he silently asked with his stare. I exhaled and dreadfully finished my sentence. "And he's going out with Sakura…" Shikamaru's eyebrows furrowed as he solved the problem. "How troublesome…" he mumbled under his breath.

"I'm overreacting…I know…" she meekly said.

"Yami, we've been best friends for two years now. You've told us a lot of things. Even things you weren't supposed to tell us…" he said.

It was true. She told us of many things that we were sworn not to speak of without her consent. Shikamaru and I both knew of the Jyu-sanbi and how it was sealed within her. We also knew how she left **because** she had to control herself just not to harm her best friend at the time. Naruto. And we also knew how she felt about him.

"Do you remember that conversation you told us about? The one you had with Kakashi?" brought up Shikamaru

_**Flashback to Chapter 7**_

_We both sat next to each other, waiting for something to happen until I asked, "What's love?" The question wasn't something he expected me to ask._

_"Why do you ask?" he countered._

_I paused then finally uneasily answered, "I don't know..."_

_The awkward silence was painful after a while. I didn't even know why I told my sensei anything __**anyways**__._

_When I decided it was time to get up, Kakashi broke the awkward silence by answering my question._

_"Love is an emotion you feel for someone when you care for them greatly, but there are different levels of love... and only you can figure which level it is..." He paused. "The different levels are something like...when you like someone... it's a lower level of love... when you're in love...it's the highest level of love." He sighed and petted my head. "It's a confusing thing that you'll eventually get, but right now... you are way too young to understand it."_

_**End of Flashback**_

"Man, you had it bad for him back then too," I mumbled under my breath. "Kakashi?!" she shrilled. "No!!" I countered. "Naruto, you baka!" I shouted with a slap on her head.

"I guess I did…" she mumbled with her shoulders slouching. "But…why does it pain me to see him with Sakura… when he wasn't even mine to begin with? I haven't even talked to him in years and I expect him to accept me with open arms?" she said with her voice heightening by the second. "I'm just…" she started. "I'm just a bad person…."

"You? A bad person?" I started. "Pffft. Yeah right." We stayed quiet for a few minutes, watching the clouds float by until Shikamaru spoke up.

"Yami… how can one be called selfish if they were dragged away from what they never had before? All you ever wanted was a friend and Naruto was your first… and we all know Naruto is a real friend and would never betray a friend. You **had** to leave him under the Third's orders," explained Shikamaru, showing his hidden talent. His brain.

"And no one fucks with a Hokage's orders," I added in.

Yami chuckled slightly and softly shook her head. Afterwards, she let out a deep sigh filled with sadness. "Yami, quit sounding so depressed. It's extremely bothersome. It's obvious to us that you liked him, and it's never obvious to Naruto. I mean, he doesn't even notice Hinata liking him," pointed out Shikamaru. With that, I frowned at the reminder.

"I guess that explains it," mumbled Yami under her breath. I knew what she was referring to. Hinata's look which screamed: "Destroyed", "Deserted", and "Depressed". I hated knowing that she still liked Naruto, even **after** he left for **two** years.

"Yeah…" I responded solemnly to Yami. She tilted her head at me and gave me an odd look. A look that asked _why the hell do you care so much?_

I groaned and ignored the question that was plaguing her. I stared up at the clouds and noticed one had a strange shade of lavender like her eyes… I inwardly groaned. _Damn I got it bad…._

"You like Hinata, don't you…" she inquired. "This is about you, not me," I countered, barely thinking of my response.

She stared at the side of my face as I stared up at the clouds for a while, then looked up at them along with Shikamaru and I. The silence wasn't bothersome or anything. It wasn't deathly quiet either. The sound of rustling trees could be heard and the people in the neighborhood were being faintly loud.

Yami groaned and dragged her hand across her face. "How the hell do I act around him now?" she asked, sounding exasperated. "**Especially** that I **ran away from him**!"

"Like you normally would?" I suggested, with my eyebrow raised.

"Acting like a lovesick puppy around a taken man is not appropriate," said Shikamaru. I glared at him and Yami looked at him very dully. "Thanks for such inspiring words, Shika," we both said in unison.

Yami and I looked at each other and chuckled. She sat up and brought her knees under her chin. "I guess I could act normal… but do I apologize?" she asked.

Shikamaru brought his hands behind his head and squinted his eyes at the clouds above him. "I don't know either… but something isn't right here…"

"What do you mean?" I asked Shikamaru curiously. He never doubted something so seriously unless something really didn't fit.

"Naruto and Sakura? I know Naruto wouldn't be so desperate to ask Sakura out the first day he's back in Konoha… but even **if** he did, why would **Sakura** of all people agree so quickly..?" he stated.

"Unless Sakura asked him out instead…" I added in. Yami stayed silent and listened to us intently.

"That could be a possibility…" he thought aloud.

"Why would she ask him out?" we all asked aloud. _Damn this is confusing…_

"Didn't she have a thing for Sasuke?" Yami asked, nearly as confused as us. "Which is why I'm so baffled by this… God this is bothersome… Pointless teenage drama," sighed Shikamaru.

"I don't know about you, but I'm gonna figure this out," I claimed.

"You're so dramatic, Kiba," I heard Yami mumble. "Shut up," I said, pouting and crossing my arms.

"How troublesome you are…" Shikamaru said lowly.

Our slightly silly mood was interrupted by a knock on the door. "I'll get it," Yami insisted. She stood up with a hop and walked towards the door. She opened it and my sensitive ears picked up "It really is you… God I haven't seen you in so long. Why'd you leave without a goodbye?!"

"Is that…?" started Shikamaru. "Yeah. And for once in his life, he's actually… serious," I said.

_**Yami's Pov**_

I stood by an open door, in front of that Uzumaki who looked at me with such sadness in his eyes. "I--had to…" I lamely said. "Had to what?" he countered.

"I had to leave immediately… I don't think I was even allowed to leave you my necklace back then… It was under the Third's orders…" I whispered at the end. Was this conversation really occurring? I never really prepared myself for this. Even after four years of being in a forest and occasionally traveling to some countries, I could never prepare myself for how… judgmental? No… how betrayed Naruto looked as he stared at me.

"The Third's orders? That really sounds like a load of bull crap!" he shouted. Well… it wasn't considered shouting if he did it constantly…

"Why would I leave my best friend unless it were anything else…" I said softly. His eyes softened and he teared up, making his eyes glossy. "God, I missed you…" he whispered as he fell into me with a hug. I stood there baffled, unable to think of what to do until my nerves calmed down just a bit and allowed me to hug him back whole heartedly.

Naruto and I stood there, hugging each other. There was nothing that interrupted us as I expected to happen. We stood in silence, unable to let the other go. If we did… the other might just disappear again. I nuzzled against his neck and took in a deep breath. He smelled still of ramen.I chuckled and enjoyed the warmth of his body against mine. "Don't ever leave without a goodbye," he demanded with a muffle.

We let each other go and looked at our expressions. He looked as if he were about to break down crying with his messy hair, and I didn't even want to know I looked like. We both laughed at each other and sat down in the kitchen. I silently thanked Kiba and Shikamaru for not interrupting us and letting me…catch on.

"What's up, Naruto," I asked a bit awkwardly. Has it really been four years since I've talked to him?

As he enthusiastically told me of his adventures with this guy named Jiraiya and his quest to save Sasuke, I took notice of all his features. He grew a foot last time I saw him. For a sixteen year old, he looked a lot more mature than when he was twelve. Even though his eyes were a bit more hard and serious, they were still the same beautiful and rare shade of sky blue. His blond hair had gotten slightly longer, but was nothing too drastic. It was still a wonder to me as to how he managed to keep them spiked, but I saved that question for later.

I told him of my trainings with my "family relative" (Tsume-sensei). I really wanted to tell him about Jyu-sanbi but felt it was **really **too soon. I told him of how all I ate was fruits and the occasional appetizing food when we visited other villages. I told him of my visits to the Land of Wind and how I met many worthy ninjas from Sunagakure, the Hidden Village in the Sand.

"Guess where I visited just around… three months ago…" I said with a small smile.

Naruto tilted his head at me, completely unaware.

"Kirigakure…" I answered, reminiscing about our first real mission.

"The Hidden village in the mist? No way!? That was our first mission!" he shouted with joy.

"Yeah. I saw Inari again. He has a girlfriend," I smiled. Inari's hair was still short and he wore a different white beanie. His green shirt was baggy and his white shorts suited him well. He saw me walking in the streets and gave me a nudge as he held onto his girlfriend's hand. I teased him so much for it, I turned him as red as an apple.

"That little brat has a girlfriend? No way!" he laughed, clinching his stomach.

I chuckled a little bit, enjoying at having shared a moment with Naruto, until a dreadful question made my heart heavy.

"So…." I awkwardly started. "You and Sakura?"

"Oh.." he said, as if it brought down the mood from his perspective too. "It was pretty spontaneous, ya know?"

I nodded my head, insisting him to go on.

"I managed to keep in contact with her whenever Jiraiya sent messages back to Konoha on his mission on finding a new Hokage. I just tagged mine along to send to her. We became good friends… almost best friends, you could say," he chuckled, running his left hand through his hair. His hand slid down and started rubbing against the back of his neck.

"And when I came back…" he started. "She just asked me out, ya know? I didn't really have a reason to say 'no' since I've liked her since before we were even in a team." He grinned a slow smile and said softly, " I think it might really work out…"

Once more, my heart felt heavy. The fake smile plastered on my face flickered, but he didn't notice. "That's great," I strained to say, not hinting my pain.

"Hey Naruto," Kiba interrupted. I never felt happier to know Kiba was there. I'm sure he heard Naruto's last comment because he sounded stern and almost possessive.

He didn't glare at Naruto, but his look made the blond uncomfortable. Kiba joined us at the kitchen table and sat next to me as he stared down Naruto. Under the table, Kiba slid his hands into mine and squeezed it in comfort.

Kiba went on to make small talk with Naruto as I stared down onto the table in thought. I thought hard about what truly bothered me. Was it that he was with Sakura? Or perhaps that I haven't seen him in so long?

I came right down to it and figured my answer: He was truly happy without me and with Sakura.

I gave off a heavy sigh out of sadness. "Yami, you okay?" Naruto asked me. I quickly straightened my posture and faked him a smile, "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just still a little tired from my trip."

I felt horrible for lying to my past best friend, but I'd rather lie to him for the rest of my life about my feelings than tell him what was truly bothering me. How can you tell someone that their happiness makes you miserable?

"Want me to come back some other time…?" the blond stalled, hinting that he didn't want to be a bother.

"It'd probably be best. Yami and I have some training to do tomorrow and we need to wake up pretty early tomorrow anyways," stated Kiba.

"Oh," said Naruto a little shocked. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. "Yeah," answered Kiba for me, glaring the slightest at Naruto.

Naruto turned to leave, but took a peek back, giving me a smile. "I'm glad you're back, Yami," he uncharacteristically whispered.

The room was filled with silence. Naruto's footsteps faded and disappeared after the door opened and shut. I continued to sit at my seat, currently staring intensely at my lap. "Yami… are you okay?" Kiba asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I automatically answered.

"Yami… it's okay if you don't feel fine. That was some pretty heavy news he put on you," he explained.

"Nah… don't worry. I'm good," I said, standing and walking away from him. He grabbed my arm and pulled me into a hug. "Quit acting so heartless…" he whispered, tightening his hug.

It was then I wondered to myself, _Why can't I feel this way about Kiba instead? It'd be so much easier…._

As my head laid on Kiba's chest, I felt his body shake. He was chuckling. "I really wish I liked you instead of Hinata… it'd be so much easier…"

I let out a humored sigh. Great minds think alike.

"So I guess they really do like each other," mumbled Shikamaru who randomly came out of the shadows. "And here I thought there was a mystery going on…" he went on.

"You really don't know when to shut up, do you?" snapped Kiba.

"What's that supposed to mean?" countered Shikamaru. "Not the right time," hinted Kiba, pointing at me who was sulking in a corner.

Shikamaru's eyes widened in realization, and then he went to rub his neck in discomfort. "No wonder women hate me…." he mumbled to himself. "Bad timing will do that to ya," added in Kiba.

"I'm fine, guys…. I mean, if he's happy with Sakura, then I'm happy. That's what friends are for," I said, clearing my thoughts of all negativity.

Shikamaru shook his head at my direction, logically thinking, _You'd actually be happy if he was with you. Lying to yourself will get you no where. _

"Shut up, Shika," snapped Kiba.

"What the hell!? I didn't even say anything!?" countered Shikamaru with a shrilly tone.

"You think too fucking loud," muttered Kiba, with a pout and crossed arms. Kiba's temper was famous for being short and short-lived. "Idiot," mumbled Shikamaru under his breath as his glare deepened.

"Hey, you two. Quit acting like a bunch of dorks," I chuckled. Even though my mood crashed, their behavior always made me laugh. You could actually read in their style of writing that they were fighting and that always resulted in a foot-long letters that kept me entertained for hours when I was in the forest.

"I'm gonna go for a walk, alright? Don't make a mess," I told them. I exited the Inuzuka household through their front door. Luckily for me, Kiba and Shika didn't follow me. I sighed, letting my negative thoughts pass by my brain. My shoulders slouched, my eyes darkened, my bang covered both my eyes.

Even though Naruto was merely dating Sakura, it had felt as if I lost my best friend. I had held onto that thin string of hope that nothing would've changed between during the period I was gone.

My hopes were high without my knowledge, and they very noticeably crashed.

As I was blindly walking, I bumped into a pedestrian. My heart skipped as the collision roughly interrupted my train of thoughts. My manners quickly rushed to me as I horrendously blushed out of embarrassment. I quickly looked up to apologize to catch a glimpse of pink hair.

Everything slowed as I realized I bumped into Sakura. My mood faltered greatly once more. I stood there frozen, staring at Sakura dumbfounded. My mouth was slightly agape as I noticed the recognition in her mint green eyes.

"Yami! How are you? I haven't heard from you in ages!" she asked in her feminine tone.

I hadn't taken the time to look at Sakura before. She had grown taller and kept her hair at medium length. Her eyes were more serious than when she first became a kunoichi. The pride of being a ninja were now evident, rather than last time she was purely obsessed with the missing Uchiha.

I snapped back into reality when I noticed that I hadn't answered her question yet. "Oh…"I started. "I'm fine… just getting used to home-sweet-home… what about you?"

A smile appeared on her face as she quickly went for my hands. Shocked by her sudden movements, I let her lead me to wherever she was going.

"Lets sit over here shall we?" she suggested, sitting at a bench near a park. She patted to a seat next to her and I blindly sat to not insult her.

"It's good to see an old teammate again," she said softly, no doubt reminiscing of the time where all four of us were together. Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, and I. Together.

"Now to answer your question 'what about you'… Well. I'm a medical nin now. And I'm very proud of my field. Ino and I are friendlier than ever. I study under our current Hokage, Tsunade. Oh I just remembered, even though Tsunade-sama is aware of your return and she'd like to meet you." She squinted her eyes in thought.

"Lets go see her now!" she squealed as she grabbed my hands. I tried to protest, but every time I had the opportunity to fadd in a word, she pulled me harder.

Eventually, we were in front of the familiar building. I saw the Hokage statue and saw the Third. Tears framed my eyes as I remembered his funeral that I could not attend.

I came back to reality, and soon followed Sakura up the stairs. We reached the hallway and eventually got to our destination, the Hokage's office.

Sakura knocked very promptly three times. She patiently awaited for a response and heard a stern-sounding, "Come in."

Sakura professionally opened the door, allowing us to come in. I stayed by the door as she walked ahead to catch the Ffifth's attention. I took the brief chance to examine the new Hokage.

She looked no older than twenty-eight years old. She had extremely noticeable, gigantic breasts. They were super hard to ignore. I shook my head to ignore such strong features and took notice of everything else. Her eyes were a very solid hazel. Her hair was around Sakura's length -above the shoulder. Unlike Naruto, her hair was a pale blonde instead of a bright blond. Her skin was fairly pale which would have contrasted against Naruto's tan skin. She had a tiny, lavender diamond in the middle of her forehead.

After I took in all of her features, I noticed that Sakura had just finished getting the Fifth's attention. Tsunade took her gaze away from her files, and her piercing eyes gazed at my soul. I froze at the intensity of her stare and stood silent.

She looked down in silence and shuffled few of her files then looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. "Ookami, Yami? From the Okami clan. Correct?" she questioned.

I desperately wanted to merely nod my head, but my manners taught by Tsume-sensei got the best of me. "Yes, ma'am," I said automatically.

She gave me a nod of both approval and recognition. She looked very interestingly at a file and looked up at Sakura. She waved her off in a very professional manner and Sakura listened and did as told, despite her growing curiosity.

Sakura left the room. The Fifth never took her gaze off of me. Sakura's footsteps echoed away from the halls and we both knew that we were alone.

"Sarutobi, Hiruzen or the Third as you formally knew him, left a very private note for the upcoming Hokage. He informed a lot about you Yami," she stated.

"With no means of disrespect, the Fifth, but how much do you know?" I asked with a bow of my head.

"You were born the thirteenth of May. From your mother, Mangetsu (Full moon), and your father, Chikara (Strength). You were born in a time when your clan was in a crisis. Half of the Jyu-sanbi's soul was to be in you, but mistakingly all of it is now in you. Your body was filled with two souls and Jyu-sanbi took complete control of it. In an attempt to find all the tailed-beasts, you went through many obstacles. You went to the hidden village of the mist and managed to train with Zabuza and Haku, now fallen ninjas. You were going to be robbed by thirteen highly dangerous nin-thieves, but in a fit of bestial nature, you killed all thirteen. You were excused from such horrendous killings because it was completely understandable after studies that a body needed great adjustment to two souls. After so, it was deemed illegal to commit such acts. Scientist of the Okami clan figured that erasing your memory would calm the Jyu-sanbi. But after such experimentations, everyone thought that their original Alpha (Jyu-sanbi) had also lost their memory. The Okami clan soon found another Alpha who had grown mad and got your parents killed because your father was the original scientist. You were found, placed in a home, looked after for improvement, and sent to Nekozuka, Tsume to control yourself."

She…explained my whole life in a paragraph. I looked at her baffled, forgetting my manners and staring way too long. She cleared her throat to break the silence, and I apologized for the awkwardness and looked down to my lap.

"I understand that your improvement has augmented greatly while you were away from Konoha, correct?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am," I whispered, still looking down at my lap.

"Yami… I need to know all about you, alright? You will meet up with a couple of ANBU ninjas and I and show us **everything** you've got…"

"**Yes, ma'am**."f


	18. Chapter 18

I woke up at the Inuzaka household. Kiba had given me his bed again and didn't question what happened when I was the Tsunade. I stared blankly at the ceiling and gave out a very unenthused stretch. I pushed the sheets off of me and trudged towards the bathroom. Surprisingly, no one was awake yet. I eventually found the bathroom and saw myself in the mirror. I rolled my eyes at my reflection and lamely took a hot shower. The hot shower eventually turned into a rather cold one to wake myself up.

I dried and dressed myself relatively fast then took a moment to stare at my reflection.

My purple hair had gotten a little darker. One fringe naturally covered half of my left eye. I looked closely and saw my golden eyes shining the slightest bit. My eyes were outlined black like a wolf's but a bit thinner.

A yawn escaped my mouth, when I noticed it was still very early. I leaned my head on the glass and thought of Tsunade's order.

I was to meet her at 4:30 sharp, five miles west of the village by the Golden Koy river.

It would take me an hour to reach the destination if I ran. Three if I walked. Half an hour if I used my all.

I was to show Tsunade my strength and my restraint. I was going to actually fight an ANBU member, which is the highest rank in the ninja world below the Hokage.

I was to tell no one.

A sigh escaped my mouth. It was 3:26 in the morning. I closed my eyes once more and thought of the journeys I went through with Tsume-sama.

I remembered well when I visited the Hidden Village in the Sand. I met a jinchuriki. His name was Gaara.

Red, short hair that reached just above his eyes that was not too straight and constantly looked messy. Lacked eyebrow for no reason. Had the palest aquamarine I had ever seen. Thin lips. Small nose. Average height. Pale skin. Had the tattoo of the word love inked red on the side of his forehead.

He was the son of the Kazekage, who -in my opinion- was a ruthless man.

When I first met the red head, he was intensely cold towards me. Constantly threatened me when fI was accidentally within his presence. Once we actually bumped into each other at the park and nearly broke out into a fight.

We had extremly bad chemistry back then. I irritated him and he pissed me off.

We started to break into a fight. His biju controlled the sand around him, ready to strike me, and my wolf ears and tail came out.

We stared at each other. Shocked at the abnormalities that we discovered in each other.

_"You're a jinchuriki too...?"_

It was odd meeting another Jinchuriki around my age. We were similar... hated by our family with the exception of a few who got killed. My parents... and his mother.

We were the unloved ones.

But didn't let it bring us down.

Gaara fought against the many assassins his own father sent to kill him and I became strong enough to control a biju.

Now, Gaara and I have a strong respect towards each other. It was...refreshing for the both of us to have met someone who could relate to our situation.

I opened my eyes and knew that I had to rush to the meeting spot. I only had one hour to get there.

I walked out of the bathroom, not before giving myself one last look in the mirror. I really hoped the person I saw in the mirror was a stronger person than four years ago. Not merely physically though...

I very quietly managed to walk out of the house without disturbing anyone. I slowly closed the front door with care so that it was soundless. I took a stare back and ran on ahead.

If I didn't impress the Fifth today, she might send me away, just like the Third had.

A slow solemn feeling washed over me. I stealthily hopped from roof to roof. As silent as the slither of a snake. As graceful as a falling feather.

A took in a deep breath, despite the speed I was running, and appreciated Konoha. I stopped, letting the wind go through my hair with my eyes closed. I tightened my fist in determination. I had to prove her wrong. I wouldn't lose another four years of my life.

I burst through the forest with my all, getting there within thirty minutes as I had predicted.

It was a little after four. I still had a couple of minutes before Tsunade came along with her ANBU member(s). I took notice of my features.

There was a convenient clearing by the river. Inside the river were indeed Golden Koy fish. I walked over to the water and looked down. The Koy fish eagerly swam by, expecting food perhaps. I bent down, knees touching my chest, and reached into the water, petting the fish. I smiled at their gentleness. I looked past the fish and into my reflection. My hair fell to the side of my face as if to shelter it.

My eyes held a certain… innocence. I knew things were going to change. I sat on the grass with my legs crossed and meditated.

_Jyu-sanbi…_

**Tsunade's POV**

I looked at myself in the mirror, fixing my blond hair behind my ears. As ordered, Kage, my shadow ANBU, and Tora, my tiger ANBU, appeared by my side. Kage wore a half black and white mask. Tora wore a very simple tiger mask. They were some of my best ANBU members.

Kage was what Shikamaru could have grown up to be if he pleased. Kage used his skillful tactics and held the ability to hide under the darkness as if it were a blanket. He could become a shadow. A very useful ability for being a ninja, stealth.

Tora was just as stealthy as Kage. She was as graceful as a tiger. Steps always silent and targets always captured. She had such amazing strength that she could vitally harm three fully armed ANBU members. Her hearing was exceptionally well, but that was not hereditary, but learned.

"Kage. Toru. Golden Koy river. We have thirty minutes," I said. They knew better not to question any further and went on without me. I took a step to go on forward when I felt someone's presence behind me.

"The Fifth…"

"Yes, Kakashi. What is it," I asked, without turning back to meet his gaze. I knew he held a close attachment to Yami. It was like Iruka and Naruto. A parent-child sort of relation even if neither noticed yet.

"If Yami doesn't meet your requirements… what will happen?"

"If Yami does not pass…" I stopped. If the worst happens, Yami is banished to function as a ninja. "She'll never surpass being a Genin. She'll forever be the lowest level of the Ninja rank until further notice. If worst happens Kakashi, she won't even have that option," I warned him.

"May I assist you, Tsunade-sama?" he respectively asked.

That was not originally part of the plan, but I reconsidered. The Third had appointed him to watch after Yami. To take notice of any changes occurring to her. It'd be best if he'd see her at her worst if it occurred.

I gave him a nod of approval and left to the reach the Golden Koy river. Shizune, my assistant, would look after everything during my period of absence.

I went on forward with full speed with Kakashi silently by my side. It was not too difficult to reach our destination within thirty minutes, even with the distance. I knew that I was right on time. Kage and Tora appeared at my sides, ready to take any orders given to them.

I searched across the little opening where I stood and saw Yami by the river. She sat Indian style on the ground. She was deeply in concentration. I strained to hear her low whispers.

_Jyu-sanbi… Jyu-sanbi… Jyu-sanbi…_

"It's time," I announced loud enough, making sure Yami heard me.

She slightly twitched, opening her eyes slowly. I noticed a change in her chakra. And she lazily got up as if all of her limbs weighed tons. Then, she stood erect, lazily looking at me.

I gazed at her upon interest. "Kage, make her show her skills. When the times comes, Tora, push her emotional boundaries."

"Emotional boundaries?" questioned Kakashi.

"They've read her file, and I'm afraid we're going to have to bring up some touchy subjects…"

I never took my gaze off of her and neither did Kakashi.

The general amount of Yami's chakra was hers… only a small amount was the Jyu-sanbi's I noticed…

Kage stood in front of her. Neither moved. Yami stood there, dully looking at Kage, as if he was not there. Kage slowly reached for his Ninjato, the Katana on his back, and pulled it out, pointing it at Yami.

He signaled her to attack first, but she did nothing. He came at her with invisible speed and she easily dodged it with a step to the side. He came at her from the back and she did a back flip over him with too much ease.

"She's not trying…is she," I concluded, noticing that all of her body muscles were too relaxed.

"From what Tsume-sama had informed me a week ago… this is how Yami fights when she's working in unison with the Jyu-sanbi and doesn't have to worry about controlling the wolf beast," Kakashi filled me in.

It made sense somewhat. Jyu-sanbi is not an irrational beast, but it's still an animal. My eyes narrowed in wonder.

"Kage," I warned in a deep tone.

I was not here to test her skills, although they impressed me for her age. She was strong, but still young. And had the possibility of ending up like Uchiha, Itachi. Cocky of their skill.

Kage understood the tone of my voice and fought harder against the Ookami.

They fought at a blurry speed and I noticed the muscles in her body tensing. She was revealing her true strength. There was no doubt that Kage could kill her if ordered… but she could put up a fight against an ANBU member for a while before being killed.

She was impressive… no doubt.

But there had to be a downside.

"Kage, enough," I ordered. He appeared directly at my side, not lingering a second by Yami, who looked confused at his sudden disappearance.

"Toga… do not go easy," I explained.

She gave me a simple nod and I could feel a smirk behind the tiger mask. She appeared at a tree with her speed in a crouching position.

"Jyu-sanbi… what a pleasure to meet you," she purred.

Yami snapped her head towards Toga's direction. She was fighting control over her consciousness as it was noticeable that Jyu-sanbi wanted to come out.

"Listen here. This is my body. You're just helping me fight," Yami snapped at Jyu-sanbi, clenching her fist with her head down.

She looked up at Toga with a glare and muttered, "You are fighting with me. Not Jyu-sanbi."

Toga laughed deeply at Yami. She hopped off the tree branch with grace and landed on the floor very silently. "So what happened to Mommy and Daddy?"

"They died," Yami said sternly, going stiff.

"So I heard…" Toga non-chalantly said, flipping her short brown hair. "You know it's your fault, right?" she said, putting her hands at her hips.

"Whatever you say," Yami countered. She was trying to stay strong, but it was slightly noticeable that the words were effecting her.

"Don't distract me," growled Yami, chucking her Kunais at Toga. Toga elegantly avoided each throw with mesmerizing speed.

Yami sped at Toga, with a clear intent of bringing physical harm. "Don't feel like talking?" asked Toga, blocking each move, and attempting to hit Yami. Yami gave her a glare and managed to kick Toga's side.

Toga skidded a few feet, attempting to catch a breath from the hard kick, and looked up through her mask at Yami. "Maybe I should get Kohaku, Kuri to get rid of you like he did your parents and clan," she said.

Kakashi's eyes opened in shock at the low blow. I studied Yami's reactions very quickly.

Her eyes were wide with shock and hurt, then they shifted to pain. She closed her eyes shut and fell to her knees in agony. Her lip was getting swollen by how hard she was biting it.

My eyes widened in shock as Yami went through a physical transformation. She grew a white tipped, bushy grey tail with matching ears on her head. Her chakra now was evenly mixed with Jyu-sanbi. If they did not work together… Jyu-sanbi could easily take control of Yami's body.

"Yami and Jyu-sanbi now have equal share of the body," explained Kakashi very slowly, still comprehending the situation. He held a far away look, purely focusing on Yami.

**Kakashi's POV**

I couldn't take my eyes off of Yami. She was now emotionally unstable with this topic and if Jyu-sanbi didn't have her wrath in check, they'd never become successful ninjas. If matters came to worst, Yami would be banished from the ninja world all together.

I looked to my side and saw Tsunade very intently paying attention to Yami's every move like a hawk.

I furrowed my brow in worry. If anything happened out of bounds… I'd basically lose this daughter of mine. She wouldn't be the same without a ninja life…

Yami stayed on the floor on her knees that she had fallen on. There was an eerie silence in the morning darkness. She slowly picked herself up with her tail loosely hanging behind her. Her ears perked up when she was erect, but her head still hung low. Tora observed her movements like a predator, just as a tiger would have.

Yami slowly lifter her head. Her eyes, which already appeared to be like a wolf's, seemed more bestial. Her ears flattened in alarm as she was ready to attack Toga.

_Yami. Whatever you do, just please keep Jyu-sanbi in control_, I pleaded in thoughts.

Yami pounced on Toga, tackling her to the ground. After smacking Yami off of her, Toga hissed at her, arching her back like a threatened cat. Yami rolled away from the impact, but quickly regained her composure and remained in an attacking stance. A deep, maniacal laugh escaped Toga.

"You know what?" she started as they circled each other, preparing to attack. "I heard he did your parents real dirty," she said as she smirked behind her mask. Yami's eyes flickered, as she momentarily lost control of Jyu-sanbi's rage.

"I know," she said, squinting her eyes at her. "That's why I'll get my clan back, you wench," she growled, as she shape shifted into a grey wolf while jumping at Toga's neck.

Toga froze momentarily, shocked at the transformation in front of her, but managed to quickly move out of the way, luckily dodging Yami's deadly fangs.

With Yami sharing her chakra evenly with Jyu-sanbi, she was twice as large than she generally was in her wolf form, reaching Toga's shoulder in height. Yami's lips raised high, showing her fangs in a threatening manner.

"So you're not afraid to kill?" taunted Toga maliciously. "You're no better than Kuri…"

Even I, with one eye covered, saw Yami's eye dialate in anger. She growled deeply and frighteningly while she lowered her head.

"Puppy doesn't like to play with Kitty?" she joked. "That's because puppy knows that kitty always…wins," she said with a smirk, as she flipped her hair. Even though her face was covered by that black and white stripped mask, you could tell her expression was pure cockiness.

When Yami lowered, ready to pounce, Toga's body position got more tense, as she was ready to pounce also. Yami barked monstrously at Toga, as Toga let out a roar that mirrored a Tiger's perfectly.

Yami jumped at her, aiming for her waist to bite at. Toga plainly stepped on the wolf's head, avoiding the strike with a jump, when Yami twisted her body and bit Toga's foot, dragging Toga down with her.

Yami turned her head with a force and slammed Toga to the ground. The brunette's body bounced at the force as she inhaled the air that escaped her lungs. The ANBU member nearly looked paralyzed on the floor.

The wolf let go of Toga's foot and towered over her. She looked down mockingly at the ANBU member and snarled at her.

I noticed that Tsunade took a sharp breath when she noticed one of her strongest ANBU member were losing to someone who wasn't even a Chunin.

By law, Yami and Naruto were still Genins. The lowest rank of Ninjas. Neither had take the Jounin test.

This was as equivalent to me, Kakashi, being beaten to death by Konohamaru, who just became a Genin.

To simplify this to the fullest, it's just like a college professor being schooled by a kindergarten student.

_I imagine Toga must be furious by now…_

Toga looked up at the snarling wolf with wild anger, and kicked Yami in chest with her monstrous strength.

The horse sized wolf flew off Toga and slammed into a tree, nearly breaking it in half.

_I suppose this proves my hypothesis about Toga's anger…_

Tsunade regained her composure, but still held some admiration for Yami for cornering her ANBU ninja.

Yami slid to the ground, her furry body slowly shape shifting back to her original form. She stood nude, her clothes being ripped.

I looked away, feeling embarrassed, but I had to pay attention to the battle. Tsunade's stare did not flicker despite Yami's nudity, although Kage looked away because he held some decency.

I slowly forced my gaze back to Yami and saw her doing hand gestures. She shaped an 'o' with her with fingers. "Howling wolf ninjutsu!" she shouted.

A ring of deep howls escaped her as she blew. The sound waves pushed back Toga and pierced her sensitive ears. Toga screamed in pain, clutching her ears in pain, and then turned into a log.

_Replacement Jutsu?! When did this happen?! _

Toga appeared behind Yami, holding a Kunai to her neck.

"She used the replacement jutsu when you turned around and when Yami was slammed to the tree," Tsunade explained, not bothering to look at me. That certainly made sense.

"Toga. Great job," stated Tsunade.

Toga quickly appeared at her side and bowed lowly. "Thank you the Fifth…" she mumbled beneath her breath.

Yami collapsed at her knees, panting hard, and extremely exhausted. She then leaned forward and fell on her chest, passing out on the floor.

Tsunade rushed to Yami's side and went to check for any vital wounds. By sheer luck, she hadn't broken any bones, which was expected after being slammed into the tree.

Tsunade fell to her knees in front of Yami with both of her ANBU members at their Fifth Hokage's side. I stood across from Tsunade, examining her actions. She hovered a hand two inches above her body and transferred her chakra to see any damage in her body. Tsunade held a deep look of concentration.

**Jyu-sanbi's POV**

_Oh no. She passed out. She's vulnerable. I won't let that bitch of a tiger bitch hurt my girl. I have NOT gotten my clan back._

I took control of her body. I know it was against her will, even though she was passed out, but I was not going to let my hostess get hurt in her vulnerability when my people are scattered.

I forced my eyes open, despite the pain of the bruises that were inflicted on Yami's body during the battle.

I heard the Fifth gasp in shock. Yami wouldn't gain consciousness for at least another five hours. Yet here I am, awake after five minutes.

I strained to get up with a grunt and gave out a painful stretch. "Jeez, you're bitch, lady," I complained. "This is a sixteen year old's body that you just abused."

"That is most definitely not Yami," I heard Kakashi mutter under his breath. I looked to my side and see Tsunade observing me.

"Your eyes aren't gold anymore," she pointed out.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," I mumbled as I rolled my eyes. I was generally grumpy, but now I was irritated too. For one, I'm in pain. Secondly, 'Toga' or 'Miss Bitch' is on my hit list for bringing things up.

"You will respect your Fifth Hokage, now present yourself," she demanded as she got up with a glare. She crossed her arms and awaited for my response.

"Wow," I chuckled. "Way more spicier than Sandaime, I must say," I joked. Her glare hadn't flickered and I sighed out of boredom. No sense of humor.

I straightened my posture with my hands to my side.

"I am the Thirteen-tailed beast or known as the Great Ookami to my clan. I'm called by Jyu-sanbi. I am sure you know of my history because I believe that Sandaime, or the Third as most of you know him by, would not be responsible to leave you without any knowledge of me."

She hadn't disagreed, so I knew I was right.

"When Yami passes out, I have easier access to take over her body to protect her in her vulnerability. But if this occurs, then my chakra cannot be used for the next week because it's being used for this," I explained.

"I see you're not irrational," she pointed out. I glared at her. I did not care if she was the Hokage.

"Listen here, lady," I snapped. Her ANBU members glared at me along with Kakashi for my disrespect. "I am older than you by far. I was here when your grandfather was born, and I have dealt and been through a lot of shit," I cursed.

"I'm considered a beast because of my strength, but I hold more wisdom than you can muster. Do not disrespect me just because I'm plainly in this child's body. I'm the twin of those chakra monsters. Not the actual ones. I helped build this village. I had my own clan and my wolves secured around the village when it was in the process of being built. I am of no danger to this town, but to myself and Tiger bitch over there," I ended, pointing at Toga.

There was a strong silence that surrounded us. Kage was shocked that I was still alive, judging by his look. I didn't blame him. I knew of Tsunade's strength and heard it was fearsome. Kakashi's jaw had dropped at my speech and mostly at Tsunade's calm expression. Toga looked intrigued at the brief information she learned about me and was angry yet scared at my threat.

Then a laughter broke the tensed silence. It was a rich, deep, yet short laughter coming from Tsunade. I crossed my arms with a raised brow and continued to stare at her very briefly.

"I think I'll like you," she said once she finished laughing. "Welcome aboard Jyu-sanbi, you are a great asset to Konoha and I hope during troubling times that we shall always have you on our side."

I noticed from the corner of my eye that Kage had looked me down then quickly turn his head away from me as if from embarrassment. I furrowed my brows at him and wondered what his deal was until I looked down at myself.

I was still standing naked.

I looked up to say something to Tsunade when I noticed the sky was gaining its morning colors. Even though the sun had not fully risen yet to peek through the mountains, you could still tell it was almost six o'clock.

With the distraction of the sky, I forgot my words even though my mouth was open as if they were prepared to release some words.

I stammered a bit, trying to gain back my memory, when I noticed Kage looking me down by accident again. Rather than look to his side, as he had previously done, he turned around.

_Oh yeah…_

"The Fifth-" I started.

"**You** may call me Tsunade," she interrupted, emphasizing that only I and not Yami may call her by her casual name.

"Tsunade, I am able to withstand a great deal of pain, and I will heal Yami's body of bruises, but I cannot restore her energy. With that and my lack of clothing, may we go to a hospital for her to rest undisturbed?"

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "I'm sure the Inuzuka household must be worried of their guest."

"Kage," she called in a demanding tone. He appeared in front of her on one of his knees with his head bowed down. "Yes, the Fifth," he replied.

"Reassure the Inuzuka household of Yami's safety without the mention of what occurred," she demanded. I took a stare at Tsunade. She was a fine replacement of Sandaime. Very strong and, mind you, a woman. She was the kind of woman that if any man really knew her, that they wouldn't dare be sexist towards her.

She looked back at me with the same demanding stare. "I must ask of you to shape shift though. We wouldn't want a naked Yami running throughout the town without her knowledge unless she was drunk," she joked.

I smirked at her attitude. I would like this lady. "Say," she started pondering. "How in control are you with your emotions?"

The silence reappeared as analyzed her question. Kage had long gone disappeared with Tsunade's orders. "As long as Yami's body has this tattoo," I answered, pointing at my neck. "If I were ever to get out of control with my emotions to an extreme point, there'd be too much chakra building inside of Yami's body. Thus resulting into an implosion."

Kakashi's eyes widened. This was ultimately new information. I shape shifted without another word and slowly headed out towards Konoha. Tsunade, Toga, and Kakashi eventually followed, augmenting their speed as I did.

The silence was still there.

That was the fault that Yami had and she didn't even know it.


	19. Chapter 19

**Yami's POV**

_I think… I think I was in that weird dream realm again… I'm not sure though… My body hurts but only barely. I feel tired, as if I overslept. _

_I think I'll open my eyes._

I heard beeps, feet shuffling, people talking and chattering away, and I heard a lot of pencils being used.

I saw a slit of light as I opened my eyes that kept getting bigger, then my vision got blurred. Wherever I was at was surrounded with medicines. I gained my focus and looked to my side as my head heavily dropped.

_I'm at the hospital?_

I saw a white skirt. I looked a little higher and saw the Konoha hospital logo printed on this nurse's top. I kept looking higher and noticed that she was the one who was writing down information. I was guessing she hadn't noticed that I had awaken yet. My eyes scrolled up to see her face and then I saw pink hair.

My heart dropped, but my mind was still fuzzy.

_Why did my heart drop?_

She agonizingly, slowly put her clipboard down to check up on me, which allowed me to see her now unblocked face. I was met with mint green eyes. I groaned at the realization that Sakura was my nurse and tried my best and succeeded at turning my head the other way. Away from her.

She gasped out of joy and clapped her hands. "You're conscious so soon!" she cheerfully said. "I can't wait to tell Naru about this!"

_Naru… Naru-chan… I used to call him that…_

I turned back to look at her as she gave me a smile. Her smile slowly faded when she noticed that my hard stare hadn't flickered at her beaming, perfect smile.

"Why are you with Naruto?"

"Why…" she slowly said, feeling hurt. "Why would you ask…?"

I wasn't sure… but Sakura sounded innocent… I thought that feeling one of life's many miseries such as lost of a loved one (like Sasuke) helped her become a better person… _I think I'm right…_

"It's just that all I remember is that you rejected Naruto…constantly back then," I carefully said, trying not to mention Sasuke's name.

She looked at me with sad eyes and slightly bit her lower lip. "I understand where your concern comes from, but after you left, it was only Naruto and I. We got closer and became really good friends. He was a wreck after you left and I took care of him. And when Sasuke left too, I became a wreck then he took care of me," she explained.

A frown graced my lips hearing this. It wasn't a frown of jealousy or suspicion or anything like that. I frowned because when she said that, I realized I missed a lot and they went through more. They went to Sandaime's funeral, dealt with Sasuke's kidnapping, dealt with my leaving, and shared so many missions.

When I thought about it… it made sense as to why they were together.

They were perfect together… Naruto was now with his dream girl.

"Um. How long have you two been dating?" I asked, trying to keep my pessimistic mind occupied.

"Well, I asked about going out via letter…around 2 months ago, but it wasn't until the day after he came back that we both accepted," she smiled. "I guess in a way, we wanted to accept face-to-face just to make sure it was the right choice."

"So you two have been going out since yesterday basically?" I summed up.

She nodded her head and smiled a happy smile.

"That's great," I complimented very emptily.

An awkward silence surrounded the room again. "Erm… Well, I see that you're fine. I'll find Tsunade-sama right away," she announced, slowly backing away.

She gratefully left the room, avoiding the awkwardness. As for me? I stayed, unmoved, looking at the ceiling. I wouldn't be together with Naruto, and that was fine with me. As long as he was happy.

I frowned again, not liking to over think the situation, and desperately wished that Shikamaru was around. He always knew the right things to say and didn't mind analyzing my thoughts with me. And I honestly didn't know what I was feeling. I didn't want Naruto to be with Sakura for my selfish reasons, but I wanted them together if they made each other happy.

My selfishness versus my want.

I let out a depressing sigh, staring at the plain white ceilings, and wished the silence would go away. From far away, I heard, "Tsunade-sama! Yes, she's conscious and alert. I'll lead you to her."

I heard a shuffle of steps and my curiosity didn't peek at all. I forgot my anxiousness over the whole situation. I didn't care at the moment if the Fifth forbid me from being a ninja.

"Yami?" I heard Tsunade ask me.

My head stayed immobile but my eyes shifted towards her. She took that as a sign of acknowledgement. "You might still be a little overwhelmed with everything, but I have some news for you."

I raised one of my brows in slight curiosity and awaited for her.

"Congratulations, Ookami, Yami of the Okami clan. An ex-genin as yourself has surpassed the ninja rank of Chunin and is now a Jonin," she announced, looking at me very expectantly.

I squinted my eyes at her, trying to grasp what she told me. "A…Jonin?" I stuttered.

She nodded promptly. "You are the same rank as Kakashi, Kurenai, and even Asuma."

My eyes widened as the words slowly started to make sense to me. I strained to sit up and tried to catch my breath. "Why did I skip the Chunin rank?"

"I'm the Hokage. I know skills when I see 'em," she simply said. "You lasted more than thirty minutes against two of my best ANBU members. I trust your strength," Tsunade smiled.

I stayed in silence and leaned back down. Things were just turning out to be… amazing. _I'm a Jonin… I have two of my best friends… I'm back home… This is just…amazing._

"But you will have to be relocated," she added in.

"Relocated?" I snapped.

"You NEVER snap at me," she snapped back, glaring at me with her all.

My anger… it came back… I couldn't control it… Jyu-sanbi's chakra mixed with mine, and my wolf ears and tail slid out. I clenched my fist hard, nails piercing through the skin.

"I go… through four years… of isolation…" I slowly sit up, clutching the bed sheets in anger now. "Leaving my best friend… leaving something I finally called a home after losing one I didn't even know I had… and you're sending me away after not even three days?!" I yelled at her as my grey ears stood erect and my tail got stiff.

Thank goodness this was a closed room. I wouldn't have to deal with the stares the other patients would give me. Tsunade hadn't flinched at my yell. Her glare hadn't faltered once.

"I said I trust your strength. Doesn't mean I trust you altogether. Don't get any madder or you'll pass out," she informed me in monotone.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALK-" I stopped. I couldn't breathe. Everything got white and I felt lightheaded.

I had passed out.

I woke up a couple of minutes afterwards. Tsunade-sama was looking at me expectantly. "Are you going to snap at me again?"

I glared at her, but got overwhelmed with a headache. "What the fu-" I started.

"It's a jutsu I tried on you. And I think it fits perfectly," she said in a bored tone, but her eyes danced with amusement.

"Every time you get mad, and only mad, the chakra I inserted in you will hit a pressure point, causing you to pass out."

"Does that even make sense?" I mumbled, clutching my head. Nothing made sense.

"I'm the Fifth Hokage. I can do anything," she complimented herself very non-chalantly. "I'm giving you five days to pack."

"Do I even know where I'm heading!?"

The Fifth kept on walking off, ignoring my outburst.

"Answer m-" I stopped, then passed out again.

I woke up again, but really groggy this time. "She's waking up!"

Kiba's loud voice pierced through my brain, causing me a headache similar to a hangover.

"Oh my god, will you just shut the f-" I started, feeling insanely annoyed.

"Nice to know you're awake and cheery," sarcastically commented Shikamaru, as he sat on the chair placed beside my bed.

"Aw man! We know about it! Congratz Yami-kins, you're strong enough to be my sensei," outrageously smiled Kiba at me.

I couldn't stay mad and smiled back at one of my best friends.

"But did you also hear.." I tried mentioning.

Both Kiba and Shikamaru frowned simultaneously. Kiba gave me a sad smile while Shikamaru forced himself to look the other way.

"She also told us about her jutsu," commented Shikamaru as he got up to stand on my other side. "Yami, you need to calm down on the anger when it comes to home or family."

I stared at both of them, then turned around to snuggle my pillow. I closed my eyes and commented, "Quit analyzing my brain. I hate it when you're right."

A silence fell over us all. Would I be leaving them? Although we've only known each other physically for two or three days, it pained me the most to leave them.

"She's not even telling me where she's sending me…" I whispered in shame.

I honestly felt pathetic. I had let my anger get the best of me. I tried to cuss at my Hokage of all people. I should be banished for disrespecting her so badly, yet she gave me a promotion, but alas she relocated me too… it was a bittersweet day.

"Yami… I have something to tell you," whispered Shikamaru.

I looked at him expectantly. He sounded… off.

"She's going to send one of us with you," he muttered, turning away from me. A wave of happiness hit me. But wait…

"Only… one?" I questioned, dreading the answer.

"To take care of you if your anger gets the best of you or something. Can't let you pass out in a foreign village, ya know?" joked Kiba, trying to lightly lighten the mood.

I opened my eyes and turned away from my pillow. Shikamaru was to my left and Kiba was on my right. They both stared at me very… sympathetically…

"Who's…choice is this?"

"Tsunade-sama's only," they synchronized.

Another silence fell over us.

"Let's just have fun. Tomorrow, I bet I could kick your ass at a battle!" shouted Kiba, showing off his canines with a smile.

I chuckled. "Yeah, sure. I'm a higher rank than you! So you gotta obey my every command!"

"You two can be so immature sometimes," commented Shikamaru as he rolled his eyes at us.

**Tsunade's POV**

_I'm surprised that Brat knows how to cuss_, I thought as I left Yami with Shikamaru and Kiba.

I had told them the news after she passed out on me. I could tell that all three of them shared a very close and platonic relationship.

It would be hard to chose which would go with Yami. I knew that she told them of the Jyu-sanbi, even though the Third had forbidden it. I knew she did. I mean, I was a kid too once.

Shikamaru and Kiba both had their pros and cons.

Shikamaru was very responsible. He wasn't rash nor illogical. His shadow jutsu would be very handy if Yami got out of control with her rage. It would control her and not harm her. And they both shared the element of shadow. But at the same time, he was very lazy. Very very lazy.

Kiba and Yami were practically cousins. Kiba had Akamaru, and from what I knew of the Okami clan, Yami was going to have her own companion very soon. They both had their canine-like abilities. Both had a strong sense of smell and hearing. It'd be as if they were a pack. But Kiba was very irrational. Almost similar to Naruto.

I frowned at that. It was sad that I knew of her family more than she did. _There has to be at least one Okami nomad out there would could teach her of their ways…_

She only knew of what Iruka-sensei knew of the Okami clan… which wasn't much. And just about no one wants to go back to their sub-village… It was so abandoned and depressing… just like the Uchiha sub-village. Not one soul lived in either, but there was so much history in both.

Uchiha always had the smartest ninjas in their clan, like Itachi and Sasuke. Top of their classes and obedient… kind of.

Itachi was always… quiet. Misunderstood perhaps. But he was always viewed as the greatest in his generation.

Sasuke… poor Sasuke. He wanted nothing but to be like his older brother, but his father never saw much opportunity in him. When Sasuke found that his brother was responsible for the Uchiha assassination… he quickly became heartless. He was only seven years old.

Uchiha clan was basically the whole police force of Konoha. When they were all killed… it impacted the whole village.

The Okami clan had the creative ninjas of Konoha. The scientists, the inventors, the doctors, and the assassins. With their creativity, the Okami assassins could frame **anyone**. They held a reputation of silent fear.

Yami's father, Chikara, was the very scientist who had fused Jyu-sanbi's soul in Yami's body. He wasn't a medical ninja, but strived to know everything about jutsus. The logic and explanation behind them all.

Mangetsu, Yami's mother, was the inventor. She was the very one who created radios for ninjas to communicate with each other. But Chikara had pointed out that other ninjas could gain the ability to tap in to the signal and hear everything we were saying despite the distance. Which explained why we used scrolls for information and used radios and cell phones to communicate briefly.

Both of them had made an impact on the ninja society.

Oh…but Yami's grandmother. Mother of Chikara, father of Yami. Her name was Chinmoku, meaning silence. She is perhaps, the most well known assassin in the ninja world. Of course the villagers and students aren't allowed to know this so very briefly, or else distrust would grow in the Okami clan.

Chinmoku was the blessed one in the generation, just as Itachi was in the Uchiha clan. She had the special abilities. To see like a wolf, hear like a wolf, and most importantly, to be a wolf. She had been an assassin since the young age of seventeen. Deadly, that female was. She was so strong, she could take out a league of ANBU member in two minutes. And it had happened before… it was the impossible score to beat.

She had long flowing, jet black hair. Her eyes were sharp and yellow. She never spoke a word. Even as a child, she never cried, thus gaining her name.

She was dubbed mute, until she had her grand-daughter, Yami. She never spoke even when her daughter was born, but when Yami opened her eyes to see the world, she finally whispered, "Until we meet again… young one." And she swiftly left the room. Not even her husband had heard her speak before that. Everyone begged and pleaded for her to speak once more, but she never did.

The day Jyu-sanbi was sealed in Yami and the new pack leader forced Yami's parents to be killed. She simply… disappeared. Natsu, her husband and Yami's grand-father, had not even known where she went, but never fretted. He always trusted her, despite her heartless reputation.

_Perhaps…_ I thought. _Perhaps, Lady Chinmoku is still out there…waiting for her grand-daughter. She would definitely teach Yami all she needs to know… but… with that reputation, she isn't really one to trust…_

I strolled outside towards the Hokage building and saw Naruto walking by Hinata. It was pretty obvious she still had a crush on him. I mean. That's pretty sad when a Hokage knows of teenage drama. I reached in front of the Hokage building and gazed upon the statues.

Next to my head was the Fourth. Next to him was the Third. _Oh, the Third. I miss that old geezer._

I passed through the door, up the stairs, in complete silence. Nothing bothered me for that short amount of time, because I knew that as soon as I reached that room, I'd-

"Where have you been! Do you see the amount of paperwork we have?!??" shouted my assistant.

Yup. This is awesome.

**Kiba's POV**

Shikamaru, Yami, and I did what we liked best as a group. Cloud-watching. It was pretty relaxing actually.

"I wish I knew my mom…"

My heart beat stopped for a moment and I'm pretty sure Shikamaru's did too.

"Or my dad…" she added.

I couldn't help but frown.

"Or anyone in my clan really…"

I closed my eyes and bit my lip. I could never relate to what she was feeling. Sasuke would have, but he's been gone…

"I know you do, Yami. But you've always got us. Don't forget that," said Shikamaru.

_Damn that guy. He always knows what to say, doesn't he? Well… I guess that's Shika for ya._

The silence dreaded over us for at least thirty minutes…or that's what it felt like to me.

I felt a little wrong bringing this up, but I couldn't think of a better time. Never had all three of us stayed in such a long silence.

"Um… guys? What should I do about… Hinata?" I asked with a trembling tone. Just saying her name aloud made me nervous. How the hell does a person get nervous from a nervous person?

_I mean. Have you seen her?! She's hot as hell, no lie. Her beautiful dark blue hair that contrasts with her pale skin had grown from shoulder-length to mid-back length. She's a cute medium height with well sized boobies. I like boobies. I really do. But lately, I can't even stare at Ino's. And Ino's boobies' are something to stare at._

_It's Hinata._

_I've come to terms that I like her. A lot. Too much. Not stalker much. But enough. Like, Akamaru noticed it. And he's a dog. So it's obvious. But she's doesn't notice. So I'm not a stalker. Get it? It's a crush. A strong crush. Oh god, I'm ranting. I should shut up. God, she's pretty… pretty hot. She's so innocent… oh god. The things I'd do to her in bed if she ever let me. I'd just pin her to the bed and just-_

"Kiba. Why is your face so red?" asked the curious purple headed female.

My eyes widened back to realization once I remembered I was around Yami and Shikamaru. The blush on my face switched from one of arousal to one of pure embarrassment.

"N-nothing! It's just really hot!" I stammered.

Yami looked at me with one brow high up in a questioning manner. Shikamaru, on the other hand, looked at me with a deep inspecting gaze, which eventually evolved into one of disgust. "More like your nuts are hot," said Shikamaru in a rarely vulgar manner.

_NO!_

I quickly looked down at my groin area and thanked all of the gods I could ever thank for saving me from a worse situation.

Yami followed my gaze and realized the situation.

A moment of silence passed us.

"HA!" she laughed, clutching her side, worsening my blush of embarrassment.

She clutched her sides till tears escaped her eyelids. I angrily covered my face in anger and quickly stood up. For a second, she stopped laughing, in fear that she'd hurt my feelings beyond repair or something, but that moment was quickly ruined by my kicks… to her face.

"I hate you!" I shouted, violently kicking her side.

"I'll never let you live it down!!!" she shouted, trying to shield herself from my kicks.

Shikamaru just sat against the trees with Akamaru, Kiba's dog, to his side. "What a bunch of morons…" he mumbled to himself. And for a second, it almost seemed like Akamaru nodded his head in agreement with Shikamaru.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Shikamaru's Pov**_

So there we were. Basically about to stalk Hinata. I guess this was Yami's and Kiba's way to enjoy one of our last days together, but this was really…pathetic. There I was, just sitting at the end of Kiba's bed, staring at Akamaru, who was outside by the window, being as tall as a horse as usual, looking back at me.

Now can you guess what we were doing on our first day out of our remaining three? Dressing up Kiba.

…

_I'm so dead serious…_

Yami was now experimenting on different styles to spike Kiba's hair. She even got him wearing jeans for goodness sake. Not shorts. Jeans. As in like, pants?

Pants. Kiba? Irrational.

I just spaced out looking at Akamaru until I heard a satisfied grunt that came from Yami. "My masterpiece," as she called Kiba at the moment.

I actually bothered to pay attention to him and was a little surprised at the slight but effective change.

Kiba wore baggy straight jeans with a buttoned up black collared shirt. He looked neat for once. His hair was spiked in a neater manner so it didn't look like bed-head. For a neck accessory, Kiba just simply wore one silver necklace around his neck with a dog paw pendant. His belt was studded red, to match the markings on his face, and he wore simple black skate sneakers.

Now, I was comfortable enough with my sexuality to admit this out loud. "Kiba, you actually look hot," I commented very surprisingly.

Kiba wrinkled his nose and narrowed his eyes, but thanked me anyways. I rolled my eyes at him and joked, "Oh yeah, Kiba. I just want to get in your pants right now."

Kiba looked at me dead in the eyes and then busted out laughing. "I can't take you seriously, man. But thanks for the flattery, Shika. Just don't let me catch you staring at my ass… that'd be weird."

_Oh great. _This was a start of homosexual jokes from Kiba. I knew he didn't seriously consider me gay, but knowing Kiba, he'd get annoying with that. Very, very, very annoying with homo jokes.

"No homo jokes. Kiba, we need to focus," reminded Yami. "Hinata."

Her name was enough to get Kiba serious. It was weird though, I never though Kiba would have such a strong thing for her. But here he was, changing himself for her sake without a single complaint.

And Kiba complained…a lot. Whiney lil' bit-

"Now! To 'accidentally' come across Hinata-san!" shouted Yami with a victorious pose. Kiba quickly punched her head, making her fall to the ground, thus ruining her victory pose.

"What the hell was that for?" she quickly stood up, yelling at Kiba's face. "For looking like an idiot?" he wolfishly grinned at Yami. She glared at him with an eye brow twitching in annoyance. She quickly shoved him on the chest, which caused him to fall flat on his bed with a laugh. Her glare dropped and was replaced with a frown. "I liked you better when you hit on me. But now you're openly all over Hinata and you're being a jerk to me…meanie," she pouted, crossing her arms.

A laugh caught me by surprise, escaping my chest with no permission. It even surprised Yami and Kiba, who were across from me. "Oh no!" exclaimed Yami with a look of pure distress. "You've turned Shikamaru into a jerk too! NO!"

As Yami fell onto her knees, my laughter stopped and I just had to stare at her. Could she be any more dramatic?

"WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY- ok. Time for our mission!" she quickly ended her scene, getting back on focus. "Yami…you're on crack," commented Kiba who was now getting off the bed.

"Kiba… shut up," she said straight-faced.

"Guys?" I caught their attention. "How are you going to find Hinata anyways?"

"Well, I'm sure she's bound to be out here somewhere," said Yami very confidently.

"…She just got rejected by the love of her teenaged life recently- sorry, Kiba" I interrupted myself to add that in. "What makes you think she'll be out in the open?"

Yami's confidence noticeably plummeted as I brought that up. Kiba held a frown that deepened by the second. A silence hung over us heavily.

"You really… didn't think of that, did you," I lamely asked, knowing the answer. She took in a breath as if to say something, but nothing came out as she opened her mouth. She did this for a bit, looking like a chocking fish, but then finally let out a sigh and mumbled, "No."

"You're so troublesome…" I mumbled really to myself. "Kiba?" I called out, causing him to look at me. "You're going to ask her out while we distract Neji."

"Why are we going to distract Neji-san?" asked Yami. Kiba looked at her questionably and at me dumbly.

"Because… Neji is a very over-protective cousin. And Neji dislikes Kiba very much," I answered.

Kiba's face blanched. "I can't do that, man! If Neji catches me, he'll behead me for sure!"

"Behead? Since when did you use big words?" asked Yami.

I let out a sigh of sympathy for Kiba as I covered my face with my hand. "Because," I answered, "That's exactly what Neji said he'd do the last and first time Kiba tried asking Hinata out."

"You had asked her out before?" asked Yami, extremely shocked.

"I didn't even get that far," he whined, letting his shoulders slump down. "I was going to ask her out for some ramen, but before I even got to say her name, Neji ninja'd out of nowhere! Then he managed to drag me in an alley by the ramen stand and freaking threatened the living daylights out of me! Ever since then, I swear to God that he's been stalking me," explained Kiba, feeling paranoid.

"Oh you're just being paranoid," brushed off Yami.

"No. He really isn't," I added in. Kiba's face blanched even whiter as he stared at me. "He's been stalking me?" he yelled, assuming my answer.

"Not all the time…" I nervously tried to reassure him, but I could tell that it didn't really bring any sort of comfort to him.

"Holy Kami… why did I have to like Hinata of all people," asked Kiba as he held his head in his hands.

Yami patted his back and comforted him, "We can't always pick who we like… but don't worry. I'll so get you a date with the lovely blue haired lady."

"Now, Shika," she continued. "Keep your phone on you, I shall text you a bit," she said as she winked at us while leaving the house.

"What the hell…" I mumbled to myself. Kiba groaned out loud and asked, "What is she doing?"

"I wish I knew but she's so…troublesome."

_**Yami's POV**_

I left Kiba's place and truly wondered what the hell I was going to do. I randomly wandered not too far near a park and found a bench to sit on. I pulled out my cell phone from my pocket and wondered if I should text Kiba or Shikamaru.

I'm glad they had cell phones. Ninjas often prefered relying on the old fashion way than relying on technology because technology could be invaded by hackers and wasn't always that reliable. So in other words, ninjas barely ever had their cell phones or walky-talkies with them.

As I sat on the bench, I felt a presence near me as I was staring at my cell phone screen. When I lifted my head to see who it was, I surprisingly saw Hinata next to me. She looked very sad and somewhat regretful when she was staring at me.

"Yami…?" she hesitated to call out my name.

"Hinata? Woah, speak of the devil…" I mumbled to myself. She started off by saying my name, but honestly looked lost for words after that. I sat in silence and waited, silently encouraging her to go on with what she was saying.

"I'm sorry I left in such a hurry when Naruto joined us," she said. I looked at her in slight bewilderment. Was that really all she wanted to say?

"Oh… um… it's okay," I reassured her awkwardly. We sat in silence, not knowing what do as we looked for things to say.

I remembered of what happened not so long ago… "Hinata?" she quickly looked up to meet my gaze in a very innocent manner. "Are you okay…?" I couldn't help but ask.

She nibbled on her bottom lip nervously as she looked away from me and rubbed her arms with her petite hands. As she sat on the bench next to me, I noticed why Kiba liked her so much. It was easily seen that Hinata Hyuuga was a genuinely nice person. She has never intentionally hurt someone in her life and probably has never had a bad thought about one either.

She was more mature than how she used to be in a sense. Her hair used to be shoulder length but now her navy hair reached at least her mid back. Her pupils were still lavender, which was a very strong Hyuuga trait. She was generally a petite female, but had a decent sized bust…I guess?

I noticed she was out of her general ninja clothes and was wearing her casual clothes.

She wore a simple white tank top with a charcoal colored hoody with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She wore a mid-thigh, plaid patterned skirt that held a mixture of reds, blacks, whites and tints of purple. She also wore knee high black socks with clean white shoes. She looked like a cute, contemporary school girl.

"I'm sorry," she nearly whispered, answering my previous question. "I'm… okay. I was just a little caught off guard when I saw Naruto and Sakura," she finished as she looked onto the floor. She fiddled with her hands as she waited for some form of reply from me. When I took too long, she blushed from embarrassment then tried to excuse herself.

"No. Don't go," I tried convincing her. She was obviously not that comfortable with me. "Could you give me a second?" I asked her. She nodded her head then looked down at her hands as she sat on the couch.

I swiftly took out my cell phone and started texting Kiba. "**Kiba. Show up by the park at the bench facing the playground. Found Hinata. Cheer her up. Now :]**" I texted.

"Hinata?" I caught her attention. She looked up innocently at me with curiosity lingering in her eyes. "When was the last time you went out to have a good time? You know… excluding training with Shino and Kiba?" I asked her with a soft smile. Her eyes widened a bit in shock but then her brows furrowed in concentration. She bit her lower lip again and looked down as her hand went to touch her cheek.

"Has it really been that long?" I asked her with a chuckle. She blushed again in a cute manner and answered, "Yeah… It has been a while actually. My father and cousin never really let me go out when I was younger, but… I got so used to staying home, I never really even thought about it all that much."

That officially has probably been the longest sentence she's ever said to me.

"Do you want to change that…?" I somewhat hesitantly asked. She looked at me somewhat shocked, but then surprised me with a smile. "I actually would…"

As if right on cue, that's when Kiba came to view. Hinata didn't notice him yet which bought me a couple of seconds. I nodded towards him to get her to notice him. She looked back and once she did, a different sort of blush came to her cheeks.

From my assumption? She thought he looked pretty handsome by the way she was looking at him. "Hinata, before I go, let me just say one thing," I requested. "If you choose to change to have fun tonight… don't think about Naruto, okay? You've got better things in front of you."

She looked at me in shock and curiosity, but that quickly went away once she heard Kiba trying to get her attention once he reached next to her.

"Hi, Hinata," he said a little nervously with a smile.

"Hi, Ki-Kiba," she stuttered with a blush.

I smiled when I saw them together. They were truly adorable. Kiba, the womanizer, was actually nervous around a girl. And Hinata was always adorable and was truly killing Kiba with her innocent blush.

I saw Shikamaru in the distance and dismissed myself from the group who didn't seem to notice my disappearance. I casually strolled to Shika with a smile on my face. It was a victorious smile…okay so maybe it was more of a grin.

Shikamaru took one look at my face and scolded me right away, "Stop grinning."

I momentarily glared at him and pouted. "Man, you take the fun out of everything."

Shikamaru stared off into the distance for five seconds and then met my eyes and said, "No. He takes the fun out of everything."

At first, I was lost. Who was this 'he'? But then I followed Shikamaru's gaze…

Neji.

Neji was 'coincidentally' walking towards his cousin with a mean look on his face. A look that screamed "Kiba, I shall murder you."

Neji was a pale man with brown long hair that he kept somewhat pulled back. He also had lavender eyes but for some reason, his were pretty harsh compared to Hinata's. He was, as usual, in his ninja outfit because he's such an over achiever. He was wearing his dirty white kimono-like outfit and ninja sandals.

"He better not," I whispered to myself. He was just about stomping his way to Kiba when he saw the way Kiba stared at his cousin… and that they were alone…enough.

My eyes widened when Neji and I made eye-contact. It was as if he knew this was my doing. His glare got so intense, I actually had to look away for a bit.

"Yami, we need to stop him now," demanded Shikamaru. I quickly nodded my head in agreement. "Don't let Hinata or Kiba notice you. They'll act differently if they notice us."

Shikamaru and I split our ways as he went left and I went right going towards Neji. We went full speed towards him, but of course Neji was prepared and threw a kunai at me, thus pinning me to a nearby tree.

"Neji! Don't you dare fuck this up for Kiba!" I harshly whispered, angry at being stuck.

That pissed him off. He got so distracted by my comment, he forgot about Shikamaru who was behind him. "Fuck this up for Kiba? Are you **serious**? He's a womanizer! With **my** cousin! Who's basically like my **baby sister**. Why the HELL would I EVER CARE about KIBA," he ended up yelling at me.

"You don't know him! Don't you dare think of him so lowly, you snob!" I snapped at him.

Neji looked like he was going to flee towards his cousin to assault Kiba, but didn't move. I looked behind him and saw Shikamaru doing his shadow imitation technique. Now Neji was forced to do whatever Shikamaru was doing, which was standing still and not attacking Kiba… but he still managed to mouth me off.

During all of this, Kiba and Hinata had gone away from us, but we were all too distracted by that.

**Kiba's POV**

"Hi, Hinata," I said nervously. Holy crap, my heart was beating furiously. I swear to god she can see me shaking.

"Hi, Ki-Kiba," she stuttered with a blush. When I noticed how red her pale cheeks had gotten, my breath got caught in my throat. Was she blushing because of me?

"You look very nice today," she said smiling. I got light headed for a second and felt as if I'd almost pass out. I am truly the happiest guy in the world right now.

I nervously chuckled, "Thanks," with a big smile on my face. It got silent for a while and that got me insanely nervous, but when I looked at her, she was actually… calm.

"So… like… I know you've been down lately…because of… um… well," I stuttered while rubbing the back of my neck. I felt so nervous. "Wanna go grab a bite…somewhere?" I asked, looking down, while my voice cracked.

I mentally slapped myself over the head. What am I? Twelve? I am a man, damnit! My voice should NOT be cracking!

As soon as I looked up though, my anger slipped away. This was the first time she was actually looking at me like this, with a genuine smile and a light blush on her face. She looked really happy… the kind of happiness that felt like it was reserved for me. The kind of look that made me feel special.

"That'd be fun, right?" she asked, still looking beautifully innocent.

My mouth slightly fell open and blindly nodded. She giggled at my actions which caused my heart to get stuck at my throat.

Holy crap, she makes me feel so nervous. Man, I'm like…way head over heels for her.

"Kiba?" she asked with her eyes getting a little wide. She waved her hand in front of my face, trying to get my attention, and all I could do was blink. I snapped back into reality and felt embarrassed again. "Sorry, sorry, sorry," I apologized quickly.

She smiled at me and told me it was ok. Wow… I forget how nice she can be. "Lets go to that new restaurant in town, Japo," I suggested. She nodded in agreement and joined me in my walk to Japo. Maybe this is considered a date… I hope so, then I truly would be the happiest person on earth.

As we were walking in a comfortable silence, I started thinking about the effects of Hinata on me. I was generally a cool guy and I knew I could get the ladies if I wanted to… but with Hinata? I was a wreck. I ended up thinking too much, talking too much, apologizing too much and not paying attention enough.

Hopefully I wouldn't mess up this date… although I wonder how Yami and Shikamaru are doing…

**Yami's POV**

I was tired. I was so very, very tired. It's now way past noon. I know I'm a Jonin, but one thing I didn't know was that Neji was also a Jonin. I considered myself pretty strong and even though Shikamaru was still a Chunin, I considered him a genius.

Neji was pretty damn smart too… so he put up QUITE a fight.

I was on top of Neji, breathing heavily and sweating, and tiredly punching him in the face. He roughly threw me off of him and gasped for breath. Shikamaru was leaning against a tree, clutching his head.

"I can't move," stated Shikamaru in a strained voice.

"I can't either," I followed soon after.

"I hate you both," said Neji, who was too tired to glare at us.

I left my face on the grass and sighed, "Neji, go die please." There was a silence between us. All that was heard was our breathing. When my breathing calmed, a question came to mind. "Why are you so against Kiba anyways…"

"I don't want Hinata getting hurt," he replied.

"You know… for a genius, you're pretty dumb," I commented, rolling over so that I was facing the sky.

"How so," he asked in a non-caring tone.

"If you keep shielding her, she'll become so delicate, not even you could protect her anymore…"

It was quiet and he hadn't replied, but I knew he heard me.

"I still don't approve of Kiba," he added in randomly.

"Poor Kiba…" muttered the tired Shikamaru.

The weather was so perfect and calm as we were lying on the floor. It was so relaxing, we actually took a nap without even realizing it.

Shikamaru, Neji and I…taking a nap on the floor…together-ish, while Kiba and Hinata were on a date?

Hell officially froze over.


	21. Chapter 21

**Shikamaru's POV**

My eyes fluttered open to see the cloudy sky. I gave out a stretch that felt like heaven to me. A yawn escaped my mouth once I noticed I was leaning against a tree. I rubbed my eyes then focused on the scenery in front of me. Hinata's cousin, Neji, was on the grass, a couple of feet away from Yami.

I let out a sigh and ran my hand through my hair and prepped myself up to wake up. I stayed sitting down by the tree and pinched the bridge of my nose while thinking.

So from what I can tell, it's probably around five or six o'clock. Kiba and Hinata should probably be still on their date. If Neji happened to wake up, the first thing he's going to do is stalk Kiba now that he isn't tired as hell from our fight. If I wake up Yami to fight him, he might slip past us both and get to Kiba before we even realize he's gone. But if I wake Yami up and then leave, then Neji might be able to defeat both of us individually. So the only thing that would work is… a distraction.

I got up in a crouching position and rubbed the back of my neck. Man, why the hell did Neji have to be so difficult? How troublesome.

I got up and quietly walked towards Yami. I nudged her sternly enough to wake her and thanked Kami that she didn't wake up loudly. When she opened her eyes, I looked at Neji to make sure that the Hyuuga didn't wake up.

I put my pointer finger to my lips and signaled Yami to be silent as I tugged her away from Neji. She slowly got up then followed me without a fight. Once we got to a far away distance, I told Yami the plan.

"Alright, so we all know that Neji is a smart bastard. Here's what we're gonna have to do," I started off.

"Wait, wait," she interrupted me. I raised my eyebrow at her in question. "We fell asleep with Neji," she giggled. "Hell froze over, didn't it?"

"At least you didn't wake up to him spooning you," I remarked with a smirk. She threw me a face of disgust and noticeably shivered.

"Going back to the plan, before I was oh so rudely interrupted," I mentioned with a glare. "We're going to have to find someone who's really good at doing transformation jutsus and we're going to have to find them fast. We'll have them make a decoy Hinata and a decoy Kiba. They'll be close to Neji so hopefully, Neji will notice you and think you're covering for Kiba. He'll be very stealthy and probably attack Kiba. Decoy Kiba will poof because he's a fake and Neji will be…pretty pissed if I'm correct," I continued.

Yami looked at me a little baffled which made me feel a bit uncomfortable. "What?" I had to question her.

"If you're correct?" she asked. "You're such a strategic nerd. I seriously doubt you're wrong, oh captain, my captain."

"Aren't you a higher rank than me, Miss Jonin?" I said, slightly pushing her buttons. She brushed off my sarcastic comment like I knew she would. I'm so glad she's not a overly serious person or else she probably wouldn't be able to stand my sarcasm sometimes.

"So if Neji is going to be pretty pissed… it's safe to assume that he's going to use his eye technique to find Hinata, right?" she assumed.

"Correct. He's going to use the Byakugan. The Byakugan allows him to see just about in a 360 degree x-ray vision that shows him chakra networks. So he will no doubt find Hinata," I explained. "So who's good at performing transformation jutsus?"

"Well, I don't know. I'm pretty decent at it, but if I use it, Neji might definitely know it's me. Can't the Byakugan see right through it?" She guessed.

She was right. From my calculations, he'll use the Byakugan after he finds out that the 'couple' were transformation jutsus… but there's no reason as to why he wouldn't use it before. So Yami needs to not use it or else he'll know right away what she's doing.

A sudden thought came to mind which caused me to frown.

"What is it?" she asked, noticing my expression.

"I know who's good at the transformation jutsu…" I trailed off. It was Naruto. Naruto was pretty skilled at it from what I can remember, but I don't know how Yami would handle it.

"Naruto's good at it…" I softly suggested, just waiting to see her reaction.

She looked at me blankly as if it caught her off guard. She blinked once or twice and said, "So lets find him."

"Are you okay with that?" I asked. I knew it bothered her on some level, but she wouldn't let me see it.

"Yeah, I'm totally fine," she tried to reassure me. I frowned, knowing she was lying to me on some level, but if she's not crying right now, so I guess she can handle it… I think.

"Man, Kiba better appreciate this," I mumbled to myself, but Yami heard me and smiled.

"Let's go before the Hyuuga wakes up. You got your cell on you?" she asked. I nodded my head in response while subconsciously clutching my phone to make sure it was there. "Let's go show off our skills," she smiled at me.

"Where would Kiba go?" I asked her. Surely she spoke of this with Kiba when she was dressing him up.

"Oh. Probably that new restaurant, Japo," she suggested.

"Oh… well that's not very far," I said, feeling somewhat disappointed and taken by surprise. "Alright. Split," I ordered then separated our ways.

The restaurant was only a couple blocks down from the park. It wasn't hard at all to find Kiba and Hinata. From what I could tell, Kiba was making a fool of himself but Hinata didn't seem to mind.

**Yami's POV**

I passed by Neji to find that he was still sleeping, but that wouldn't last too long. My main objective was to find Naruto and keep an eye on Neji… how was I supposed to do that?

I walked away far enough to keep Neji in my view and wandered around frantically. I paced back and forth until someone tapped my shoulder. I looked over my shoulder and saw… Sakura. That instant sour feeling came back in my heart, but I shrugged it off with a smile. "Oh. Hi, Sakura," I greeted.

She looked at me in wonder and asked, "Are you okay? You've been pacing for a while now."

"Oh, my bad," I apologized while rubbing the back of my neck. "I'm just doing a friend a favor…" I trailed off when a sudden thought came to my head. "Sakura… you know where Naruto is, right?"

She looked a little bit taken aback but then cutely nodded. "Is he far?" I inquired. She shook her head 'no'. She paused and then concentrated a bit. "He might actually be at Ichiraku's Ramen Bar since it's like, his favorite place to eat at," she giggled with a smile. I slapped myself in head and said, "Why didn't I think of that!"

She smiled at me then her face changed to one of confusion. "Do you need him?"

I frowned then thought to myself, '_More than you think…_' "Yeah. I need his help on something. Do you think you could tell him to meet me by the playground?" I asked her. It felt really awkward asking her that, but she didn't seem to mind at all.

"Oh, okay," she smiled at me. Jeez, she's pretty nice these days, isn't she? Now I feel bad about liking her boyfriend… at least I don't act on it. Thank Kami.

"Well, good luck on helping out your friend," she said. As she walked away, I stared at her disappearing figure. At first I didn't want to interfere in their relationship because of Naruto's happiness… but now Sakura's kindness is part of it too. Who knew she would change this much over the years.

I hated how I couldn't change how I felt…

I refocused on my original subject and gazed over Neji's figure to see that he was still asleep. I pulled out my phone and texted Shikamaru, "**He's still asleep. How're things over there?**"

I waited for a moment and received his reply, "**Kiba's being a total clumsy idiot but Hinata doesn't mind**" That comment made me smile. I looked at Neji and noticed he was moving a little bit. He probably would be waking up soon.

I looked behind me and saw Naruto walking towards my way. His blond hair stuck out like a sore thumb. He was wearing his ninja outfit and looked somewhat swollen. "Hey, Yami," he somewhat shouted with a grin. "I just finished my seventh bowl of Ramen. It was delicious! Choji is a great cook."

I smiled when I looked into his blue eyes. They felt very comfortable to me. "So Shikamaru tells me you're really good at transformation jutsus. Well, are you?" I asked.

He looked at me a little lost but then gave me a bright smile right after. "Heck yeah!"

"Can you make a Kiba and Hinata out of those two rocks?" I asked.

Now he really looked at me confused then performed hand seals. Then poof. There were replicas of Kiba and Hinata right in front of us. "Could you make them look like they're dating too? And please don't make Kiba look like a jerk to Hinata," I pleaded.

He did it effortlessly then looked at me a little baffled. "So…why am I doing this?"

"Oh, Kiba and Hinata are on a date. And Neji is so against Hinata dating that he's about to murder Kiba. But Kiba is really a good guy and actually likes Hinata, so Shikamaru and I are tricking Neji to buy Kiba some time," I roughly explained.

He looked at me with a lost expression and then mindlessly nodded to everything I said. "Okay. It kinda makes sense…" he muttered.

I looked over my shoulder and saw that Neji had already sat up and was rubbing his head. My eyes widened in fear. "Oh, shoot! Come on and make 'em look cute!" I harshly whispered while nudging him away.

"I gotta look like I'm by myself and watching over them. Thanks a bunch!" I said, pushing him away.

After awkwardly pushing Naruto away, I went up to go hide above a tree branch. I made sure that Neji was able to catch a glimpse of me if he would want to look for me or Shikamaru…which he would. Naruto was still looking at me confused, so I kept having to mouth him the word 'date'. Eventually, he made the replicas looking like they were legitimately dating…

But they were so intimate looking. Kiba was all over Hinata and Hinata was just accepting it as if they've been dating for years. I looked at Naruto with a stern look and mouthed him to 'tone it down'. He looked at me, still baffled, then made them look…somewhat proper.

Thank every and all gods or god because Neji missed their overly intimate moment. I looked from the corner of my eye and saw that Neji had seen me… and then he disappeared from my site… like Shikamaru predicted. In less than a second, Neji came out of nowhere and literally tackled Kiba to the floor!

"Get your hands off of her!" he shouted to a… rock? Yup. The transformation jutsu ended, and because of Neji's surprise attack, Naruto almost peed himself from fear, thus dismissing the transformation jutsu that made the Hinata replica.

"Gyah!" yelled Naruto in fear as he was clutching his chest.

Neji was so in shock that he just stood there and stared at the two rocks. He didn't even look at me or even the loud Naruto. He just simply stared at the rocks. He started clenching his fist so tightly that it started to tremble. Then his face slowly started getting darker tints of red. He took a sharp look at me and sent me a furious glare.

If Neji wasn't the silent but deadly type, right now he would be breaking a thousand year old tree in half in less than a minute. He was down right terrifying right now. I pulled out my phone and started texting Shikamaru with speed, "**Distraction terminated. Defend now**"

When I looked up, Neji was gone but had thankfully gone the opposite way of Japo… but it wouldn't take him too long to find him…not with ninja speed mixed with rage.

Wait… wasn't he supposed to use his Byakugan? The idiot will probably use it when he calms down a little bit and starts thinking. Which should give me…what? Two minutes extra till I fight off a ninja on the verge of killing my best friend? Nice.

I hopped off my branch and jogged to Naruto, who was still trying to catch his breath. "You okay there, Naru-chan?" I asked with a chuckled. My heart skipped then I realized what I called him and immediately wished I took it back.

He looked up at me and sincerely smiled at me. "You haven't called me that in… four years."

Wow… his blue eyes seemed bluer than ever in that moment. I teared up a little bit, feeling all those four years of regret weighing down my heart.

"Sorry I dragged you into this," I apologized. I really didn't want Neji to be mad at him too, especially since he didn't do anything. He waved off my apology and gave me a hug.

The hug shocked me since it was unexpected. He nuzzled into the crook of my neck and held me tighter. My heart pounded as hard as a hammer and as fast as a rabbit. He swung me lightly from side to side while he hugged me and chuckled, "Man…we used to hug like this all the time. Feels good."

My heart ached. We did used to hug like this, didn't we? Back then when I was oblivious to how I felt for him… this used to be a best friend hug, but now it's just a painful one that leaves me lingering.

I gave off a pretty pathetic laugh and slightly pushed him away. I couldn't meet his gaze because this hurt too much. "Thanks for helping, Naruto," I smiled, meeting his gaze. He looked a little hurt, but mostly confused. His face changed immediately to a smile when he said, "No problem!"

"I owe you one," I smiled. "But now I gotta go save Kiba. Peace out," I gave him a wave. My happy expression slightly died off when I took one last look of him. Starting from his beautiful blond hair, going to his drowning blue eyes, to his amazing smile and strong body, and ending at his neck… he was still wearing my necklace. It was an odd blend of silver and gold and the symbol of my clan hung loosely off of it.

That was the last thing I gave to him before I left and he still wore it to this day.

Tears flooded my eyes when I finally turned away from him. He then called out, "Since you owe me, hang out with me tomorrow!"

I gave him a thumbs up, unable to look back at him. I let the tears flow freely down my cheeks as I started running and hopping towards Japo. I looked up and searched for Shikamaru as I was sniffling. When I found him, tears started falling like waterfalls as I ran towards him. He was leaning against a tree, not really trying to hide himself. He was paying deep attention to Kiba and Shikamaru, but when he heard my footsteps, his concentration on them died and was focused on me.

I ran towards him and gave him a nearly crushing hug as I tried not to sob. "He's still wearing it!" I complained to him with sniffling interrupting each word I managed to say.

"What is he wearing?" Shikamaru asked, feeling oh so confused. "Who's he?" he added on.

"Naruto… is still...wearing…my necklace….the one I gave him… when I left," I cried. My god I felt weak. But that just made it so much worst for me. That means he never forgot me. That he probably wore it every day. That I truly was a horrible friend and left him.

Shikamaru stood still for a minute, then tightened his arms around me, as if to make me feel more secure. It helped…a lot. Man, I just hated feeling like an emotional wreck. From him being my oldest best friend, I've realized I'm so attached to him… Unrequited love fucking stinks!

All of a sudden, Shikamaru got intensely still. "He found him."

He let go of me and threw me an apologetic glance. The sun was setting, emitting quite a bit of shadows to Shikamaru's advantage. In my saddened state, I looked all around me and noticed the shadows… it's been a while since I experimented with either of my elements. Shadow and Fire.

I inhaled through my nose and exhaled through my mouth to calm myself. I slowly started calming myself. I performed a series of hand seals and called out, "Shadow puppets no jutsu."

This technique…took an awful lot of chakra, but I didn't care at the moment. I just wanted to completely focus on a battle… just honestly take off all of my attention from my feelings. My weak feelings.

"Neji…"

He came up out of nowhere, looking ready for a battle. "I know she's in there…"

"I dare you… to get passed me," I whispered… I was really just looking for a fight.

**Shikamaru's POV**

I could tell as soon as she performed those hand seals that she was about to get serious… I gotta find a way to keep her calmed down though. If she gets mad, then she'll pass out from the Hokage's seal.

"You're using way too much chakra… you'll pass out in no time," gloated the Hyuuga who was still activating on his Byakugan.

Damnit! She just passed out yesterday from using too much chakra, so the Jyu-sanbi can't give her any more of its chakra if she uses too much of her own!

"Don't worry… I'll make it quick…" she mumbled with a smirk.

… She seemed scarily sadistic… Oh, man. She was going to take out her frustration on Neji in a scary way… Tsume-sensei never let her experiment with her elemental side because he wanted her to focus on self learning and being able to understand and control the Jyu-sanbi.

Thank Kami Neji was also a Jonin… I didn't have to worry so much about his life.

But now I have to worry about her own health, because she never practiced this jutsu…

She did a claw motion towards the shadows on the floor and… lifted the shadows from the floor?

She lifted one…two….three shadows off the floor and made them real. I assumed that chakra flowed right into them, which was giving Neji an advantage, no doubt. She moved her fingers and actually shaped the shadows into…wolves?

At the speed of light, the shadow wolves were already pouncing on Neji. Neji's eyes even opened in shock at the speed, but he barely dodged them with a jump. He landed gracefully on his feet and threw kunais at the shadow figures but I just went thru them as if they weren't solid at all.

One thing I managed to notice right away though was when the shadows were hit, she would freeze. I think it probably due to the chakra flow, but I knew if it had anything to do with chakras that Neji would notice it in a heartbeat.

And speak of the devil, Neji's eyebrows were furrowed together as if he was in deep thought. I had to stop this before he wrecked her.

"YAMI!" I yelled. She didn't move her head towards me, she just shifted her eyes towards my direction.

"Stop it. Right. Now," I demanded her. She slightly glared at me, leaving her eyes slightly opened. I performed hand seals and got my shadows to reach out to hers. "Shadow Imitation Jutsu."

She tried to jump away, but thank goodness it was late, so she couldn't flee from the shadows because they surrounded her. She growled at me once I caught her. I glared at her. She actually growled at me? The nerve…

I moved away backwards and she was forced to do the same. Neji, however, didn't really understand the program since he deactivated his Byakugan. He attacked Yami while she was defenseless. She doubled over in pain.

"Would you stop! I got her under control!" I screamed at him.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY THEN!" He countered right back.

"What the f-!" Yami started.

I heard the door slide open, followed my two sets of footsteps rushing towards us.

"Hinata, what's wrong?" I heard Kiba said from afar.

"Neji!" she yelled… well. She didn't really yell since her tone was still high pitched and soft.

Neji instantly stopped what he was doing and stared at Hinata. His stare instantly turned into a glare as soon as he saw Kiba behind her, who looked frightened of him. He never took off his gaze off of Kiba. His glare got intense as he said, "Hinata. Go. Home. Now."

She teared up as her breathing quickened. "How dare you ruin this night for me…" she whispered. "For once, I'm actually going out and making my own decisions!" She raised her voice.

Although Hinata wasn't really yelling, she never ever raised her voice before. Even so, her voice still sounded soft and gentle yet scary.

**Kiba's POV**

I wished I could try calming Hinata down, but even as she's scolding Neji, he never took his eyes off of me. I was actually extremely scared.

"Neji! For once just look at me and listen to the words I'm saying," she demanded. He instantly stopped staring at me. I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders…but I was still really worried about Hinata. Her angry expression quickly crumbled to one of heartbreak.

"Ne-Neji… you and fa-father never let me do anything… and I ne-never do anything wrong… for once in your life just tr-trust me…" she begged with tears were streaming down her face… it saddened me extremely.

She covered her face with her hands and started sobbing. I neared her and pulled her close to me. I could feel Neji's glare intensify at my action, but I didn't care. I hugged her and smoothed her hair down. "It's okay, Hinata. It's okay…"

"I think it's best for you to go now. We'll bring Hinata home safely shortly," hinted Shikamaru with a stern expression on his face.

Neji held a pained and angry expression as he turned around. He did a double take to look at Hinata and walked away hesitantly. I felt her little arms wrap around my waist as she buried her face in my chest. I let out a sigh and rocked her side to side to comfort her. "It'll be okay, Hina-chan…"

I looked to my side and noticed that Shikamaru looked pretty angry. "Start walking her home, Kiba. We'll be right behind you," he demanded.

I looked from him to Yami and noticed the tension between them both. I gave Shikamaru a nod and separated from Hinata to hold her hands. I flashed her a smile and led her away from the drama. She looked at me very innocently through her tears and gifted me with a smile.

"Let's go, Hinata…"

We took a silent walk to her mansion of a house. The silence was comfortable and throughout that whole time, we held hands. My heart started beating slowly and fast at the same time, but I didn't mind whatsoever. I smile kept trying to come up, but I tried to hide it from her, feeling embarrassed at how she could make me feel.

Once we got to the front of her home, she stopped and turned around facing me. "Th-thank you, Kiba… a lot."

She got on her tippy-toes and got her face really close to mine. My heart pounded harder and harder the closer she got to me. Then as quick as a heart beat…she kissed me on the cheek.

She pulled back and I noticed how red her face had gotten. "Thanks again…" she trailed off as she walked away from me. She slowly walked away backwards from me into her house as she kept her eye contact with me. She gave me an embarrassed smile before going into her house. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and let out the biggest smile I could muster.

"YES!" I whispered to myself.

**Shikamaru's POV**

As soon as Hinata and Kiba left our site, I clenched my fist. Yami was still on the floor panting and trying to catch her breath. She was clenching her sides and she clumsily got up. "Man, he packed in quite a punch…" she said out loud.

She looked at me and noticed my expression. She stopped looking pained and suddenly looked confused.

"What's wron-" she started.

"Don't ask me what's wrong…" I interrupted her. She looked a little taken back, but a look of worry blanketed her.

"Yami… don't growl at me. I'm your friend. I'm one of your best friends," I snapped at her. "I'm not some kid who'll forget about you in a couple of years and I'm not a guy who'll stop being your friend after a fight. Remember that."

She looked down onto the floor in shame and apologized to me. I was so irked, I didn't really listen to her.

I walked off. I generally don't like to snap at people because it's so bothersome, but I had a line and she nearly crossed it.

**Yami's POV**…I forgot how good of a friend he was to me…

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru," I whispered. I needed to treat him better and I knew that. I rubbed the back of my neck and felt so crappy about how I treated him.

"Yami, you okay?" asked a certain blond.

I became alert and looked around for him and found Naruto. My heart skipped… again.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, purely confused as to why he was here when we separated ways not too long ago.

"I still live in the same apartment and it's over there," he mentioned as he pointed behind me.

"Oh…" I dumbly said, not really knowing what else to say. It never occurred to me that he still lived in the same house. I almost completely forgot that we were neighbors too four years ago.

There was a silence between that slowly grew awkward as I tried to find words to say. My hand automatically went behind my neck and started rubbing it out of pure nervous habit.

"So are we hanging out tomorrow?" he asked.

"If you're not busy…" I lamely said as an excuse. "With our background? Of course, I'm not busy! I'll always make room for an old friend!" he replied as cheery as ever.

His smile somewhat faded as he stared at me. I started getting self conscious. Was there something on my face? Did I mumble something? Did I have a booger in my nose or something?

It honestly took nearly all of my willpower not to touch my face to reassure something in my nervous state.

"Was it worth it to leave…?" he asked, as if that particular question had plagued him for years…and it probably did.

I looked at him and truly pondered… was it worth it?

If I didn't go to train with Tsume, I would've hurt him if I lost control of my emotions. When I went to go train, I probably lost Naruto as my best friend… but at least I didn't try to kill him by accident in a state of pure rage.

"In the long shot it was," I answered as I shot him a sad smile.

"Oh…" he responded with a frown still on his face. Then a smile slowly grew back. "As long as you think it was the right choice, then it's fine by me."

I looked at him with such sad eyes. "Did I lose my chance with you?"

"What?" he asked, looking completely confuse.

Oh, no. What the hell did I just say. "Uh," I stuttered, not knowing what to say.

"Man, I'm getting really tired. Gotta go before Kiba starts worrying about me," I said as an excuse as I shot him a lame, nervous smile.

"Uh…sure. Okay," he said, confused as ever.

"Bye!" I waved him off as I basically fled away from him. As soon as I turned away from him, my face reddened from blushing. What. The. Hell. I just accidentally admitted my love to my oldest friend without even noticing it! What the hell was I thinking?

**Naruto's POV**

…**I heard what she said. But what the hell?**

**What a completely random question…**

…**In what sense did she mean it?**

"**Did I lose my chance with you?"….**

… **What?**


End file.
